Pa. Rep. Deluzio presents federal funds for child care centers in Allegheny County

WILKINSBURG, Pa. — U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-17th District, visited a child care center here Wednesday to present $600,000 in federal funds to the Early Excellence Project, a nonprofit that supports early learning child care centers in Allegheny County. 

The funds are from the House’s fiscal year 2023 Community Funding Projects, Deluzio’s staff said. The organization will use the funding to support early learning child care centers in Allegheny County and help them improve their ratings on the state’s Keystone STARS (standards, training/professional development, assistance, resources and supports) system, according to EEP Director of Operations Lyasha Bishop. 

“High quality childcare and early education can make a huge difference in the life of any kid, families, and help kids better succeed in school and throughout their lives,” Deluzio said. 

But, he added, nearly 60% of Pennsylvania residents live in a “child care desert” — defined as an area where there are more than three times as many children as there are licensed child care slots. 

“Many people have to choose between work and child care, an impossible choice for a household that has bills to pay, a fridge to stock, a life to live,” the western Pennsylvania lawmaker said.

A recent study from the nonprofit ReadyNation and the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission found that gaps in the commonwealth’s child care system cost Pennsylvania families, employers and taxpayers $6.65 billion in lost earnings and tax revenue annually. 

“Let me be clear: Our country does not invest as it should in child care,” Deluzio said. “The price our economy sets on caregivers’ work is way too low.” 

He cited research from Start Strong PA that found the average child care teacher in Pennsylvania earns less than $12.50 an hour, or less than $26,000 a year, and many of them qualify for government benefits such as  SNAP and Medicaid. 

“Meanwhile, many childcare providers are worried about pricing out families who are already struggling to afford the cost of child care and everyday cost of living,” Deluzio said, adding that it was particularly challenging for providers who participate in the state’s subsidized Child Care Works program for low-income families. 

“Historically, the subsidies have not kept pace with the actual cost of providing child care,” he said. “All this to me speaks to the need for direct action to help providers recruit or retain qualified educators, the need for direct investment to boost wages for these teachers, to better reflect their work, their experience and the professional degree achievement of so many of those teachers.”

Deluzio made the remarks at the Each One Teach One Learning Center in Wilkinsburg, a borough east of Pittsburgh with a median household income of just under $40,000 a year. He was joined by Wilkinsburg Mayor Dontae Comans and representatives of the Early Excellence Project. 

The organization will use the funding to support early learning child care centers in Allegheny County and help them improve their ratings on the state’s Keystone STARS (standards, training/professional development, assistance, resources and supports) system, according to EEP Director of Operations Lyasha Bishop.

Tierra Porter, director of operations at Each One Teach One, said the center had worked with the Early Excellence Project at its Wilkinsburg location over the past year, to help it achieve the STARS four ranking. 

“This accreditation allows centers to receive additional funding per child. The benefits include the ability to recruit more quality staff because they have the ability to offer more competitive wages,” she explained. “We recommend this program to all child care centers, especially those in low-income communities who need help but can’t afford consultants.” 

Under a request for proposal that will be launched soon, child care centers in Allegheny County can apply for assistance, but Bishop said the goal is to help those centers with lower STARS rankings to improve. Bishop said special consideration will be given to centers in low-income areas that serve underrepresented populations.