Policy Brief: Compensation of Early Childhood Teachers: What Value do we Place on Young Children?

Authors

Kathy Thornburg, University of MissouriFollow
Helen Raikes, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Brian Wilcox, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Carolyn P. Edwards, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Julia C. Torquati, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Susan Hegland, Iowa
Carla Peterson, Iowa State UniversityFollow
Jean Ann Summers, Kansas
Jane Atwater, Kansas

ORCID IDs

Julia C. Torquati

Date of this Version

2005

Comments

Published by Midwest Child Care Research Consortium • Center on Children, Families and the Law, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Abstract

In 2001, university researchers and state program partners in four states (Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska) initiated the Midwest Child Care Research Consortium (MCCRC). The focus of the Consortium’s work is to conduct a longitudinal study on a range of issues associated with early childhood program quality and the workforce. Across the four states, a random sample of 2,022 child care providers participated in the study representing licensed infant, toddler, and preschool centers as well as Head Start and Early Head Start programs, license-exempt centers, and licensed and unlicensed family child care homes. In Nebraska, 508 providers participated in telephone interviews and 85 of those programs were randomly selected for an observational quality assessment. The purpose of this policy brief is to present findings relating to child care provider compensation and benefits in Nebraska and the relation of these to quality.