First 5 LA Allocates $15 Million to Support Development of Early Care/Education ProfessionalsNovember 17, 2005 |
Printer-friendly version |
| (LOS ANGELES)-- To address the growing shortage of qualified early care and education professionals, the First 5 LA Commission last Thursday allocated $15 million to a new initiative to train, mentor, and recruit caregivers and teachers. "This investment in workforce development represents a major first step in ensuring we have an adequate supply of qualified caregivers and teachers who can give our children the early learning boost they need to succeed in school and in life," said Evelyn V. Martinez, First 5 LA executive director. "Our research shows there is a shortfall of more than 3,000 child care spaces in LA County due to a shortage of teachers and facilities. At a time when more than half of children five years and under have parents who work outside the home, there is also a great need for recruitment and training of new teachers, as one in five preschool teachers is now over 50 years old," she added. First 5 LA's Early Care and Education Workforce Development Initiative is coupled with a $600 million five-year commitment, made by the commission in 2004, to provide preschool to all 4-year olds in LA County, regardless of income, by the year 2014. Los Angeles Universal Preschool, a public benefit corporation, created to implement this goal, has already funded more than 100 preschools serving more than 3,500 students. Recent research, nationally and locally, highlights the need for training and education to enable early care and education professionals (who are largely self-employed and home-based) to provide higher quality services. There is a growing call for a bachelor's degree as a minimum qualification for early care and education professionals. Currently, only 32 percent of early education teachers have an AA or higher and only 6 percent of assistant teachers have such qualifications. Major factors in the shortage of early care and education workforce are low compensation, lack of benefits and the resulting high turnover. A 2002 survey for LA County shows the salary range of a child care teacher to be between $16,450 and $25,078 annually, compared to kindergarten and elementary school teachers, whose average salary is $44,110-$47,450 annually. First 5 LA is a unique child advocacy organization created by California voters that invests tobacco tax revenues for programs to improve the lives of children prenatal through 5 in Los Angeles County. First 5 LA champions health, education and safety issues benefiting young children and families. |
|
