Findings From COVID-19 Surveys of Early Childhood Professionals

Just weeks after the commission report was released, Nebraska issued its first Directed Health Measure, closing schools and businesses to limit the spread of COVID-19. Very quickly, the pandemic lockdown made it abundantly clear that Nebraska’s early childhood workforce was indeed a priority profession. The pandemic both exposed and exacerbated funding problems in the system and elevated the urgent need for quality services for children and families in communities across the state.

Building on the collaborative relationships and shared understandings established through the commission, the Institute began to develop and distribute surveys to examine the early and ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child care professionals across the state:

• The first survey was distributed through multiple channels, including local network partners and social media. Intended to quickly assess the concerns and immediate needs of the workforce in the context of a looming pandemic, rapid research methods were employed,142 and the survey was conducted before the CARES Act was passed by Congress in March 2020. More than 2,100 providers responded to the survey. The survey data showed that child care providers were encountering very high stress linked to economic insecurity, threat of health problems, and lack of reliable information.143

• The second survey, conducted in late June 2020 among a more focused sample of child care owners, operators, and administrators, received more than 1,000 responses. Findings showed that the economic, health, and personal stressors reported from the first survey remained extremely high. The majority of responding providers said that without additional financial assistance they would likely close their doors if the pandemic were to continue.144

• The third survey, conducted in February 2022, again focused on owners, operators, and administrators of licensed care and education programs. More than 750 licensed providers responded to the survey, roughly a quarter of all licensed providers in the state. The survey found that two-thirds of providers had experienced income reductions in the previous year and that staff turnover among center-based providers was very high. Among the nearly 240 early childhood center directors who responded to the survey, 92% reported having difficulty hiring staff.145

Findings from these three surveys confirmed that the pandemic had significant impacts on the well-being of the early childhood workforce in Nebraska. Although three-fourths of responding providers had been vaccinated against the coronavirus by 2022, providers had contracted COVID-19 at twice the rate of Nebraska’s general population. Most licensed providers (87%) received some COVID-19 relief funding, yet two-thirds still experienced a reduction in income. Center-based programs faced difficulty hiring staff and reported high levels of turnover.

Providers continue to experience high rates of stress and mental health symptoms. And despite reporting relatively high adoption of self-care practices, 45% reported experiencing some level of burnout. These findings are consistent with a national survey that found rates of depression and stress among early childhood professionals were higher than rates among other U.S. adults overall during the pandemic.146

Societal tensions related to racial equity also increased during the pandemic.147 Because of the potential impact on the well-being of providers of color, we wanted to know if providers were experiencing an increase in discrimination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among all providers who identified as a person of color (American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Asian American; Black or African American; Hispanic, Latinx, or Spanish Origin; or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander), 1 in 3 indicated they had experienced increased discrimination over the course of the pandemic. Providers identifying as Black or African American reported higher rates (41%) of increased discrimination.

Nebraska’s early care and education workforce continues to experience incredible stress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. This COVID-related stress intensifies existing challenges, including poor funding and compensation, high job stress, and policies that do not support small businesses. Child care providers are essential to Nebraska’s communities and economy, and many are struggling physically, emotionally, and financially. As is often said these days, they are “the workforce behind the workforce.”

Among early childhood organizations across the state, responses to findings from the COVID-19 surveys included calls for new funding, state policy changes, and increased resources for providers and families seeking child care. Government agencies mobilized to shift subsidy reimbursements for child care businesses so they would receive payment based on enrollment rather than attendance. In addition, legislative efforts were made to support the workforce, as previously described (see p. 105). Informed by the COVID-19 provider surveys and an increased appreciation for elevating the voice of providers, state agencies and organizations initiated listening efforts and are incorporating provider perspectives into the ongoing funding and policy efforts to support Nebraska’s child care system.

Increasing Integration of Workforce Well-Being

From the outset, our work included a focus on ensuring the presence of a qualified early childhood workforce in Nebraska. In addition, we understood from the growing body of research that early childhood professionals need to be well to do well. Over our first decade, we began to prioritize workforce well-being as a critical factor in ensuring that early childhood professionals can provide the nurturing one-on-one interactions that are the hallmark of quality early care and education.

Our commitment to promoting a qualified and well-supported workforce is reflected in the following principles. They are based on what we have learned over the past 10 years and serve to guide our ongoing efforts to elevate the early childhood workforce:

• Quality early childhood education is not negotiable, and workforce well-being drives quality. We know that the well-being of early childhood professionals is influenced by multiple factors and mediates the relationship between those factors and the quality of relationships with children, families, and other professionals. We also know that those relationships drive quality.35,136 Our commitment to promoting workforce well-being is foundational to our commitment to ensuring equitable access to quality experiences for all children birth through age 8.

• Successful and sustainable investment in the early childhood workforce is contingent on purposeful coordination of effort and resources across the system. Recruitment and retention of teachers and caregivers has reached a crisis point nationally,148 and we know that additional funding and compensation supported retention of teachers in the context of a pandemic.149 In our third survey of providers in the context of COVID-19, center-based programs that received larger amounts of pandemic-related financial assistance reported less difficulty recruiting and retaining staff.145 Yet, this temporary financial assistance has not resolved the underlying challenges associated with funding quality early care and education. As we seek sustainable solutions, it is essential to consider changes and impacts across the system.

• Continued strategic outreach is essential to building public will and commitment around elevating the early childhood workforce and ensuring quality early care and education for all children birth through age 8. Over the past 10 years, the Institute, in collaboration with many partners and stakeholders across the state, has helped to increase awareness and understanding about quality early care and education, the critical role that early childhood professionals play in delivering such care and education, and the importance of ensuring access to quality early care and education for all children birth through age 8. Despite this progress, promoting understanding about the importance of ensuring not just access, but access to quality early care and education for all children across the continuum from birth through Grade 3, remains challenging. Depending on various needs and resources, a narrow focus still sometimes emerges, such as focusing on access without attending to quality, or focusing on children from only one age group (birth through age 5 vs. Kindergarten through age 8).

• Continued collaboration, collective leadership, and authentic engagement of the early childhood workforce is necessary for success. Developing and implementing the systems-level changes that are needed to ensure the well-being of Nebraska’s early childhood workforce requires ongoing coordination, collaboration, and communication. As we continue to build on existing relationships and create new partnerships—both within the Institute and across the state—we also commit ourselves to consistently and authentically engaging early childhood professionals in the work of elevating the profession. This means that early childhood professionals create solutions, rather than just identifying problems or reacting to proposed solutions.