Published by CounciLINK on July 25, 2019
WASHINGTON – Respondents in a new national survey tied to the decline of family child care providers mostly blame the poor compensation of early child care workers for the alarming dip.
But the survey from the Council for Professional Recognition also blames the decline on the lack of consistent state and federal support for family child care and the rising number of families who are choosing child care centers over family child care homes.
Across the country, 11 million children under age five are in child care, with 3 million children in family child care, according to the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).
And while there are about 1 million paid providers who care for children in home-based settings, those numbers rapidly are sinking when they should be rising to the meet the needs of working families, NAFCC reports.
“Working parents are desperately trying to find quality early childhood education for their children,” said Dr. Valora Washington, Council CEO. “Conversely, many licensed family child care providers are going out of business.”
Of the 606 respondents in the Council survey, 52 percent said they have an active CDA. The CDA, of course, is administered by the Council. It is the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education and a key tool in helping educators earn higher pay, high-quality teaching skills and, overall, respect.
Opportunities to learn about how to earn and renew the CDA led responses when participants were asked what types of professional development training family child care providers or owners would find helpful.
Overwhelmingly, respondents (95 percent) said that the family child care home where they work or worked is licensed.
Most respondents, nearly 47 percent, said they earned their CDA in the Preschool (Center-based) setting. Second was Family Child Care, 36 percent, and then Infant Toddler (Center-based) with 31 percent.
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Chief Operations Officer
Andrew Davis serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Council. In this role, Andrew oversees the Programs Division, which includes the following operational functions: credentialing, growth and business development, marketing and communications, public policy and advocacy, research, innovation, and customer relations.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience in the early care and education field. Most recently, Andrew served as Senior Vice President of Partnership and Engagement with Acelero Learning and Shine Early Learning, where he led the expansion of state and community-based partnerships to produce more equitable systems of service delivery, improved programmatic quality, and greater outcomes for communities, children and families. Prior to that, he served as Director of Early Learning at Follett School Solutions.
Andrew earned his MBA from the University of Baltimore and Towson University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland – University College.
Chief Financial Officer
Jan Bigelow serves as Chief Financial Officer at the Council and has been with the organization since February of 2022.
Jan has more than 30 years in accounting and finance experience, including public accounting, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. She has held management-level positions with BDO Seidman, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Pew Center for Global Climate Change, Communities In Schools, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and American Humane. Since 2003, Jan has worked exclusively in the non-profit sector where she has been a passionate advocate in improving business operations in order to further the mission of her employers.
Jan holds a CPA from the State of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College. She resides in Alexandria VA with her husband and dog.
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