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Jobs in the Balance: The Three-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC's Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. Working Paper

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Jobs in the Balance: The Three-Year Labor Market Impacts of Washington, DC's Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. Working Paper
Language: English
Authors: Owen Schochet, Katie Gonzalez, Mathematica
Source: Mathematica. 2026.
Availability: Mathematica. P.O. Box 2393, Princeton, NJ 08543. Tel: 609-799-3535; Fax: 609-799-0005; e-mail: publications@mathematica-mpr.com; Web site: https://www.mathematica.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 70
Publication Date: 2026
Sponsoring Agency: Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, Inc.
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Descriptors: Early Childhood Teachers, Comparable Worth, Educational Finance, Teacher Salaries, Employment Level, Teacher Supply and Demand, Compensation (Remuneration), Child Care
Geographic Terms: District of Columbia
Abstract: Child 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.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED680858
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Child 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.