The Impact of Universal Pre-K on Child Care Providers in FWISD 2014
What’s Next? Unanswered Questions Many questions remain about the overall impacts of Fort Worth ISD’s universal pre-k expansion. Some providers express concerns that the increased demand for early childhood educators and higher wages paid to FWISD pre-k teachers will result in decreased supply or higher personnel costs for quality early childhood teachers for private pre-k programs. Additionally, as Bassok et al noted in their 2012 analysis of the community-level impact of public pre-k on private child care providers, it is not possible at this point to predict whether or not public pre-k classrooms will reduce 0-3 year old child care availability at the neighborhood or community level or result in fewer child care options for parents of 4-year-olds. Finally, while evidence suggests that existing private child care providers will need to modify programs to accommodate enrollment losses stemming from public pre-k for 4-year-olds or to increase enrollment among younger children, it is not yet possible to determine what the overall economic impact of these modifications will be for individual providers or for the private child care market as a whole. Where do we go from here? What we know is that parents currently have the following options for child care: For-Profit Child Care Providers, Nonprofit Child Care Providers, family members, Government Funded Head Start Programs, CCMS Subsidy where accepted and Public pre-k. We also know that something needs to be done to facilitate the transition of child care in Fort Worth Independent School District to a universal pre-kindergarten model. What we can do is advocate for more collaboration, educate providers on ways they can minimize the impacts of UPK on their businesses and keep child care providers better informed. Through these efforts and continued research to better understand the impacts of FWISD universal pre-k, Camp Fire First Texas and strong community leaders and stakeholders can aid in the sustainability planning of existing pre-k programs and ultimately lead to insuring that young children have quality early learning experiences needed to be ready for school.
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