Item 3- United Way Early Childhood Landscape Survey presentation — original pdf

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PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Austin/Travis County 2025 ECE Landscape Survey Results Alison Bentley, Ph.D Vice President of Impact, Data and Evaluation United Way for Greater Austin 11 PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Our Strategic Plan 2 PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Baseline data ○ UWATX used to conduct landscape surveys bi-annually until 2018 ○ Discontinued during COVID and beyond ○ Lacked any up-to-date data to inform implementation and show impact of RTC ○ Have some data through our Success By 6 Coalition, but not the level needed 3 PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS 2025 ECE Landscape Survey Goal: Collected updated information to inform improved coordination, accountability, advocacy, and funding decisions across the ECE sector -including information needed for RTC Survey Components: 1. 2. 3. Development of the survey with community co-creation at the center Distribute survey and collect information Create reports and dashboards to share information back out to the community Key Indicators: Enrollment Information: Staffing and Qualifications a. b. c. Wages & Compensation d. e. f. Tuition costs Needs and Challenges Demographics of children, teachers, and administrators (e.g., age, race/ethnicity) 4 PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Methods 55 PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Development & Co-creation ● ● 2010-2018 surveys used as guide Used several SX6 Coalition workgroups and partners for feedback & development - 30+ individuals ○ Workgroups: ■ ■ High quality child care workgroup Equity workgroup ○ Partners: City of Austin Travis County ■ ■ ■ Workforce Solutions Boards (WFS) ● Once strawman survey was created: ○ ○ ○ Presented to WFS provider workgroup, UWATX child care partners, and family-based child care groups for feedback & ask for specific engagement Received group feedback from 30+ providers Received specific feedback from 5 providers (3 center based & 2 home-based providers) - provided $50 compensation per provider ● Final survey was lengthy - but providers were compensated between $100-$200 per site/location for completion. 6 PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Distribution ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Fielded October 30-December 30 2025 This captures a snapshot between the ending of ARPA funds and beginning of RTC funds Survey sent to 572 providers ○ ○ 20% registered and licensed home-based providers (N=114) 80% licensed centers (N=458) Sent out by partners at the City, County, and Workforce Solutions Attended several provider workgroups to talk about survey 132 finished a large proportion of the questions; 100 providers completed the survey Challenges/barriers: ■ Roughly half of home-based providers did not have an email address and could only be contacted through phone Chains and franchises - make up large number/percentage of providers ■ ● Representative sample 7 PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Overall Results The Austin/Travis County ECE system operates under persistent strain, shaped by workforce shortages, financial fragility, and uneven access to affordable care. Providers reported difficulty keeping classrooms fully enrolled, retaining existing teachers, recruiting qualified staff, maintaining facilities, and keeping tuition affordable. The interconnected challenges that make it difficult to operate stable, high-quality programs. 8 Key Results ● Providers reported operating at just ○ 64% of their licensed capacity ○ 73% of desired capacity ● Only 16% of providers were fully enrolled & 84% had open slots in three or more age groups. ● Teacher turnover exceeded 40%, driven by low wages, career changes, and performance-related dismissals. ● Well over half of the providers indicated that open positions remained unfilled largely because applicant pools were small and candidates lacked required qualifications. ● These staffing challenges often led to operational shifts, such as additional workload for current teachers, closing or combining classrooms, or inability to meet quality standards. ● At the same time, providers were dealing with rising costs for labor and benefits, food, classroom materials, and facility maintenance. ● About a third of providers identified the inability to pay competitive wages and benefits as major hiring barriers. ● Facility upgrades ranked among both the top concerns, and top funding priorities. ● Over one-fifth of providers were not confident in their financial stability over the next year. PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Enrollment and Capacity 1111 Most ‘open slots’ were for preschoolers 84% of providers reported being under enrolled For-profit providers and those accepting subsidies were most likely to report under enrollment in 3+ age groups PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Staffing Challenges and Teacher Demographics 1616 Teacher vacancies often result in operational shifts Small applicant pools, candidates lacking required qualifications, and inability to pay competitive wages are barriers to filling positions Long tenure defines much of the workforce: yet turnover rate is high Average Turnover Rate is over 40% Almost 60% of providers have more than 20% turnover 30% of lead teachers had at least a four-year degree Average teacher wages are a bright spot, but still do not provide a living wage for Travis County Salary and change of careers are top reasons for teachers leaving Successful retention strategies focus on wages and culture PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Director/Owner Information 2626 Long tenure defines much of the leadership: over half had been at their program for over 10 years 60% of directors or owners had at least a four-year degree Over 50% of directors or owners earned more than $60,000/year PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Financial Confidence Program Challenges & Priorities 3030 Over a fifth of providers reported not feeling confident in their financial stability over the next year For-profit providers are a lot less confident than non-profit providers Home-based providers are a lot less confident than center-based providers Key Focus Areas & Community Strategies ● Increase enrollment ○ Raising Travis County direct scholarship/gap funding ○ Pre-K Partnerships ● Improve recruitment and retention of teachers - teacher pipeline & wages ● Create director pipeline ● Shared Services for: ○ Substitutes ○ Food and classroom materials, diapers, etc. ○ Facility improvements and management/maintenance ○ Other services that save money and time PRESENTATION TITLE OF A FEW WORDS Next Steps United Way will build on this work through topic-specific reports (e.g., enrollment, quality, wages & benefits), and dashboards on the EC data hub. Priorities will be determined through coalition and community conversations. Focus groups with providers to dig deeper where survey couldn’t. Questions? Alison.Bentley@uwatx.org 37