According to Quality Care for Children’s (QCC) most recent Provider Pulse Check report, most of Georgia’s child care providers are still struggling to fully staff their child care programs and meet parent demand for child care in their communities although Georgia’s economy has largely rebounded since the COVID-19 crisis. The annual survey, which this year includes responses from child care providers in 103 of Georgia’s counties, offers a real-time look at what the state’s child care industry is experiencing and the supports needed to help them sustain their business and continue serving the state’s youngest learners.

Overall, the survey confirms that the current supply of high-quality child care in Georgia does not meet the growing demand from families and that the low wages paid to the industry’s workers is a large factor in it being understaffed. Georgia’s child care workforce, which are mostly women, are among the lowest paid in the nation earning an average of $12.58 per hour in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor. 

“Unfortunately, we were not surprised by the survey’s results, which mirrors the child care crisis happening throughout the U.S.,” said Ellyn Cochran, Quality Care for Children’s President and CEO. “Georgia’s early learning and care workers were struggling with low margins pre-pandemic and are concerned that the end of the federal relief dollars in September will increase their current staffing and wage challenges.”

QCC’s Provider Pulse Check report highlights include:

• More than 70 percent of child care centers experienced teacher shortages in the past three months

• Close to 80 percent of programs stated they were having difficulty hiring new staff

• To retain staff, 75 percent of child care centers increased teacher pay

• More than 55 percent of providers increased their new enrollment waitlists since the pandemic

• More than 70 percent of respondents said they could serve more children if they had more staff

• More than 35 percent of programs had to close classrooms due to teacher shortages

• Many providers voiced that they were more comfortable teaching and caring for children than they were running a small business

“Also confirmed by the survey is that most child care providers excel at teaching and taking care of children but not as small business owners. It’s why we launched QCCworks, which provides business coaching and budgeting tools to help providers maintain salary increases, hire substitutes as needed, and sustain their business,” said Cochran.

The annual Provider Pulse Check survey was sent out to all licensed child care learning centers and family child care learning homes across Georgia in April. A total of 430 providers responded, including 258 center-based programs, representing 103 of Georgia’s 159 counties.