Home > Child Care  > R.E.W.A.R.D. Wisconsin Program

Bureau of Early Childhood Education

R.E.W.A.R.D.^™ Wisconsin
(Rewarding Education with Wages And Respect for Dedication)

The Problem

Wisconsin, as well as most states, is experiencing a child care staffing crisis. Programs are not able to find qualified staff to fill positions, requiring programs to close down classrooms, compromise staff/child ratios and sometimes close entire programs due to the staffing shortage. In addition, programs piece together workers to fill positions, which may leave children having multiple teachers and not knowing who their teacher will be on a particular day. The single most important determinant of child care quality is the presence of consistent, sensitive, well-trained and well compensated caregivers. Currently, low compensation, poor benefits and high turnover have led to a nationwide child care staffing crisis. Lack of resources, in conjunction with the need to maintain affordability for parents, make it difficult for individual child care programs to reward or encourage teacher education and provide more competitive salaries.

• In 15 states (including Wisconsin), parents spend twice as much on child care as they do on public college tuition. (Opening A New Window On Child Care, National Council of Jewish Women, 1999.)
• The most important predictor of quality child care is staff wages. Child care staff are among the lowest paid workers in the country. (National Women’s Law Center, Washington D.C., 2000.)
• Wisconsin child care teachers earn an average of $7.50/hour. Most full-time child care providers earn annual incomes of 13,000-15,000. (Opening A New Window On Child Care, National Council of Jewish Women, 1999.)
• The national child care turnover rate is 31%. (Worthy Work, Unlivable Wages, The National Child Care Staffing Study, 1988-1997, Center for the Child Care Workforce, 1998.)
• One third of child care staff leave the field each year due primarily to low wages. (National Women’s Law Center, Washington D.C., 2000.)
• The most highly qualified child care teachers are the least satisfied with their jobs. (Pay, Benefits & Jobs Satisfaction of Wisconsin Child Care Providers & Early Childhood Teachers, 1988.)
• When (child care) staff are more highly trained and better compensated; children’s activities are of higher quality and caregivers are more responsive and less restrictive. (Child Care Quality: Does it Matter & Does it Need to be Improved, 2000).

The Purpose

Improve child care quality by reducing turnover, retaining staff who have attained identified educational levels and encouraging the continued education of teachers, directors and family child care providers.

The Solution, R.E.W.A.R.D.^™ Wisconsin:

• Rewards attained education – with supplement award amounts that are based on the level of education an individual has already attained. (See The Registry Career Ladder)
• Rewards longevity – supplements are distributed after the recipient has completed a continuous commitment period in the same child care setting.
• Maintains marketplace competition for better salaries – supplements vary based only on education attained, not on wages earned.
• Integrates with other Education and Compensation Initiatives – R.E.W.A.R.D.^™ Wisconsin builds on and coordinates with T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^® Wisconsin. Whereas T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^® Wisconsin rewards child care professionals seeking more education and helps them attain it, R.E.W.A.R.D.^™ Wisconsin rewards those who have already attained education and helps keep them in their child care programs.
• Provides a direct supplement – supplements recognize individual professional development efforts regardless of the work environment and addresses low wages without impacting center budgets, regular wages, or parent fees.
• Does not increase costs to parents because funding for R.E.W.A.R.D.^™ Wisconsin comes from external sources and goes directly to individual child care providers, families can have the benefit of better educated, more consistent staff without having to pay more.

The Results

Although the R.E.W.A.R.D.^™ Wisconsin Program is not yet able to report on the impacts upon child care quality and the workforce, Wisconsin can expect results similar to the North Carolina Child Care W.A.G.E.$.^™ Project, operating since 1994:

• North Carolina reports an 11% turnover rate among Child Care W.A.G.E.$.^™ Project participants as compared to the statewide annual turnover rate of 32%.
• North Carolina reports that 75% of Child Care W.A.G.E.$.^™ Project participants indicated that the project either encourages them to stay in the field or to pursue further education.
• North Carolina reports that 57% of Child Care W.A.G.E.$.^™ Project participants are currently in class or have taken coursework since first applying to the supplement program.
• North Carolina reports that 94% of directors indicated that staff participation in Child Care W.A.G.E.$.^™ Project benefits children in improved quality.

2008 R.E.W.A.R.D Reports

• Summary Report

2007 R.E.W.A.R.D Reports

• Summary Report

2006 R.E.W.A.R.D Reports

• There was not a REWARD program in 2006

2005 R.E.W.A.R.D Reports

• Summary Report (pdf)
• Map of Program Recipients by County of Residence (pdf)
• Map of Program Recipients by County of Employment (pdf)
• Wage Report (pdf)

2003 R.E.W.A.R.D Reports

• 2003 R.E.W.A.R.D Data Summary (pdf)
• 2003 R.E.W.A.R.D Recipients by County (pdf)
  

2002 R.E.W.A.R.D Reports

• 2002 R.E.W.A.R.D Data Summary (pdf)
• 2002 Eligibility Requirements
   

2001 R.E.W.A.R.D Reports

• 2001 Stipend Allocation Chart
• Program Data Summary for 2001 Pilot Year

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