[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-585273-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-585273-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","jobs-in-the-balance-the-three-year-labor-market-impacts-of-washington-dcs-early-childhood-educator-pay-equity-fund","Jobs in the Balance - The Three-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund","","Child care and early childhood education (CCEE) educators are among the lowest-paid workers in the United States and earn substantially less than similarly qualified public-school educators. Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund (PEF) addresses pay disparities through dedicated public funding. Launched in 2022, the PEF provided $10,000 to $14,000 annually to over 4,000 educators and later shifted to a facility payment model. Using quarterly labor market data and synthetic control methods, the study estimates impacts on employment, wages, and establishment outcomes over three years.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/jobs-in-the-balance-the-three-year-labor-market-impacts-of-washington-dcs-early-childhood-educator-pay-equity-fund/585273/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/jobs-in-the-balance-the-three-year-labor-market-impacts-of-washington-dcs-early-childhood-educator-pay-equity-fund/585273.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Aria Callaghan","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What problem does Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund (PEF) target?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The PEF targets pay disparities between child care and early childhood education (CCEE) educators and educators in public schools. It provides dedicated public funding intended to raise compensation and improve labor market outcomes.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How did the PEF’s payment approach change over time?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The PEF initially delivered direct annual payments of $10,000 to $14,000 to educators for its first two years. It then shifted to a facility payment model that integrated compensation into employer payroll.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What labor market impacts did the study find over three years?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Over three years, the PEF produced statistically significant positive impacts on CCEE employment, with effects emerging soon after launch and growing over time. Wage impacts were near zero under direct payments but became positive and statistically significant after the shift to the facility payment model, while establishment impacts were not statistically significant and appeared negative.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},585273,1792166107,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":94,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962084926284,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","WORKING PAPER  \nJobs in the Balance: The Three-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund  \nApril 2026  \nOwen Schochet, Katie Gonzalez  \nJobs in the Balance: The Three-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund  \nOwen Schochet  \nMathematica  \n[OSchochet@mathematica-mpr.com](OSchochet@mathematica-mpr.com)  \nKatie Gonzalez  \nMathematica  \n[KGonzalez@mathematica-mpr.com](KGonzalez@mathematica-mpr.com)  \nApril 2026  \nFunding for this study was provided by the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund. The authors appreciate comments and information from Emily Moiduddin, Gretchen Kirby, Vincent Pohl, Ruqiyyah Anbar-Shaheen, Cameron Clark, Eliot Brenner, DC Action/Under 3 DC Policy Working Group members, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the DC Health Benefits Exchange Authority, and the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The views expressed in this brief do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of these individuals or organizations.  \nThis study presents findings from Mathematica’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund Impact and Cost Effectiveness Study (PEF Impact) . PEF Impact is supported by the Bezos Family Foundation, DC Action, the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, and the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative based at the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.  \nAbstract  \nChild care and early childhood education (CCEE) educators are among the lowestpaid workers in the United States and earn substantially less than similarly qualified educators in public schools. Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund (PEF) is the nation’s first dedicated public funding stream designed to address pay disparities between the CCEE and public school sectors. Launched in 2022, the PEF delivered direct payments of $10,000 to $14,000 annually to more than 4,000 educators over its first two years before shifting to a facility payment model that integrated compensation into employer payroll. Using quarterly labor market data and multiple-outcome synthetic control methods, we estimated program impacts on CCEE sector outcomes. Through three years, the PEF had statistically significant positive impacts on CCEE employment, with effects emerging shortly after the launch of the program and growing to reach 341 additional educators, or about 11 percent relative to baseline. Impacts on average employer-reported wages remained close to zero when payments were delivered directly to educators but became positive and statistically significant following the shift to the facility payment model, reaching $179 per week (about $9,300 annually) . Impacts on the number of CCEE establishments were not statistically significant but negative, suggesting that workforce growth occurred primarily within existing establishments and the program may have reduced incentives to open new ones. Findings are robust to alternative samples, designs, and specifications. We discuss how these results have informed decisions about the future of the PEF in Washington, DC, and the design of compensation initiatives in other states and localities.  \nIntroduction  \nCompensation for child care and early education (CCEE) educators is a policy challenge with far-reaching implications for the CCEE sector and the children and families who rely on it. Decades of research demonstrate the essential role that CCEE educators play in shaping children’s development during the formative early years (Hamre et al., 2014; Mashburn et al., 2008; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001; Phillips et al., 2016) . Yet, CCEE educators are among the lowest-paid workers in the United States, particularly those employed outside of school-based settings, who comprise the majority of the workforce. In May 2024, the median hourly wage for child care educators was $15.41—more than 50 percent below that of preschool teachers in school-based settings, and 39 percent below the median hourly wage a","cbCainC1k5706jBO","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainC1k5706jBO","pdf",8141414,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction","[{\"question\":\"What problem does Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund (PEF) target?\",\"answer\":\"The PEF targets pay disparities between child care and early childhood education (CCEE) educators and educators in public schools. It provides dedicated public funding intended to raise compensation and improve labor market outcomes.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the PEF’s payment approach change over time?\",\"answer\":\"The PEF initially delivered direct annual payments of $10,000 to $14,000 to educators for its first two years. It then shifted to a facility payment model that integrated compensation into employer payroll.\"},{\"question\":\"What labor market impacts did the study find over three years?\",\"answer\":\"Over three years, the PEF produced statistically significant positive impacts on CCEE employment, with effects emerging soon after launch and growing over time. Wage impacts were near zero under direct payments but became positive and statistically significant after the shift to the facility payment model, while establishment impacts were not statistically significant and appeared negative.\"}]","Jobs in the Balance - The Three-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC’s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund | PDF",1792054220,176]