ECONOMICS OF CARING LABOR: Improving Compensation in the Early Childhood Workforce. A Working Paper.

ECONOMICS OF CARING LABOR: Improving Compensation in the Early Childhood Workforce. A Working Paper. Carol Ripple. The Foundation for Child Development, 2000. 32 pp. The A. L. Mailman Family Foundation and the Foundation for Child Development convened a group of individuals representing diverse disciplines to discuss issues related to compensation for workers in the child- and elder-care fields. After discussing contextual issues that contribute to low wages, the group developed strategies to improve compensation. These strategies are: increase public funds for early childhood education that include targeted compensation initiatives, raise wages and benefits for all low-income workers, educate the public and mobilize powerful constituencies, link child- and elder-care quality campaigns, unionize / organize the early childhood workforce, and professionalize the early childhood workforce.

In addition to these strategies, recommendations were developed. These recommendations include: conduct studies of ongoing state efforts, anticipate the need for both state and federal strategies, investigate the feasibility of expanding state spending for pre-kindergarten, define the population of dependent caregivers, disseminate outcome measures associated with high-quality care, encourage and put into effect community-level demonstration projects, and understand the reasons behind market failure in the dependent care field.

These recommendations reflect a need for a better understanding of underlying issues related to potential policy approaches. Together, the strategies and recommendations offered represent an interdisciplinary approach.

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