Adrienne Briggs, a dedicated child care provider in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, embodies the financial struggles faced by many in her profession. With $55,000 in student loan debt and a modest monthly payment of $150, retirement seems a distant dream even after 30 years in the field. Briggs’ situation highlights a critical issue: the burden of student loans on child care providers and the limitations of current loan forgiveness programs.
While the federal Department of Education offers the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, it largely excludes a significant portion of the child care workforce. This program, designed to alleviate student debt for public servants, is currently limited to those working in nonprofit or federally operated child care centers, such as Head Start, and requires 10 years of service. This leaves out dedicated professionals like Briggs, who runs her in-home center, and those employed by for-profit child care facilities.
This disparity also affects teachers, who generally qualify for loan forgiveness if employed by public or nonprofit schools. However, unlike the predominantly nonprofit private school sector, private child care is often for-profit, creating a significant gap in access to loan forgiveness for child care workers.
Organizations like Home Grown are advocating for a crucial change: the clarification that early childhood employers, including for-profit centers and in-home providers, should be eligible for loan forgiveness without needing to prove nonprofit status. Alexandra Patterson, Director of Policy and Strategy at Home Grown, emphasizes the public service nature of all early childhood education, regardless of the center’s profit status. This argument was recently presented to the U.S. Department of Education during a public input period focused on improving loan forgiveness programs.
The Biden administration’s recent announcement of student loan debt forgiveness, offering $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for other borrowers (subject to income restrictions), along with an extension of the loan payment pause, offers some broader relief. However, the fundamental issue of program inaccessibility for many child care providers remains.
Data from a Stanford University survey of 802 child care providers reveals that nearly 1 in 5 are burdened by student loan debt – a rate comparable to the national average. Cristi Carman, program manager of the RAPID survey at Stanford University, points out the precarious financial situation of child care workers, characterized by low wages, limited benefits, and job instability. Many providers juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet.
The stark reality of child care worker compensation is further highlighted by data from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, which reported an average hourly wage of just $11.65 in 2020. Even those with bachelor’s degrees working in private centers earned a median of only $15.41 per hour.
Adrienne Briggs’ journey reflects a commitment to professional development despite financial constraints. Starting with a high school diploma, she progressively earned a child care certification, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, and finally a master’s degree in 2013. This pursuit of knowledge was driven by a desire to enhance her in-home program, Lil’ Bits Family Child Care Home, which holds the highest ranking in Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS program.
Briggs emphasizes that her advanced education was an investment in her business and the children and families she serves, aimed at providing the highest quality care. The financial implications of student debt were a secondary consideration to her dedication to improving her program. Despite her qualifications, her income remains around $30,000 annually, limiting her loan repayment to $150 per month, barely covering the interest and making significant debt reduction seem impossible.
BriAnne Moline’s experience in Missoula, Montana, mirrors Briggs’ challenges. Starting as a janitor in a child care center and progressing to a provider, Moline pursued an associate’s degree and is now completing her bachelor’s while running her in-home group child care center serving 22 children. Her estimated $60,000 student loan debt is a significant obstacle, preventing her from achieving financial stability, such as purchasing a home to further secure her business and family’s future.
Annie Dade, a policy analyst for the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, underscores that student loan debt is just one facet of a larger crisis within the child care industry. Exacerbated by the pandemic, the sector faces a critical workforce shortage, with employment still significantly below pre-pandemic levels. States are implementing various measures to cope, some of which raise concerns about safety and long-term effectiveness. Dade argues that these measures are insufficient without substantial investment to address the root causes of the crisis, particularly low wages and high turnover.
While expanding Public Service Loan Forgiveness to all child care providers may not be a singular solution to the industry’s deep-seated problems, it would offer crucial relief to a struggling workforce. Patterson from Home Grown emphasizes that loan forgiveness is an important opportunity to support early childhood professionals, but it must be coupled with broader systemic investments in the sector to ensure its long-term viability and sustainability.
This story about public service loan forgiveness was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
