Wage Comparability Studies and the Staffing Crisis, An Interview with Jane Hanson

Jane Hanson shares her insights on the importance of wage comparability studies, requirements for Head Start/Early Head Start programs, and how data can be used to address the staffing crisis. Ms. Hanson is a Consultant with Foundations for Families, specializing in wage comparability studies and data research. She is experienced working with community agencies across the country, helping to provide programs with data to understand and meet staff, family, and community needs.What is your professional background?I have been consulting with FFF since 2017 and my work has focused on services for Head Start programs, including conducting data research for community assessments and helping prepare grant applications for DRS, baseline, and continuation grants. Currently, I am part of the team preparing wage studies.My prior work experience is based in fundraising and grant writing for nonprofits. The philanthropic researcher in me is especially drawn to collecting wage data. And as a grant writer, I have been trained to present a defensible argument in order to be awarded funding. These elements, combined with the expertise of the FFF team, ensure that our wage studies are grounded in what agencies need to know right now to address the salary side of the workforce challenge.Why are wage comparability studies important? Wage studies are a crucial part of the budget planning toolbox for any organization, to help document wage disparities. You have to know the current wage range in the marketplace in order to develop a plan to pay your workers more.We already know that most child care workers are underpaid. We also know that the COVID pandemic challenged an already fragile child care system. For many workers, COVID was the last straw - people just up and left Head Start programs. And that has set off another chain of events: when a program doesn’t have enough staff, they can’t open classrooms, which means they can’t enroll children. Programs that are underenrolled now risk losing funding if they can’t turn things around. This is happening all across the country, and the National Head Start Association is documenting many of these workforce challenges here.In addition, wages for retail jobs have skyrocketed while many states continue to push towards a higher minimum wage. Workers simply have a lot more options, whether they are in urban or rural areas. The Office of Head Start has also recognized that public schools are one of the main competitors for teaching staff in HS/EHS programs.A wage study is a necessary step to help agencies understand all these factors in the local labor market – once you see what everyone else is offering their workers, you can make a plan to be more competitive and attract and retain qualified candidates.Are wage comparability studies required?Yes, they are required. The Head Start Act, Section 623, describes the limits and minimums for Head Start programs, including the requirement to provide comparable wages. The Act also states that “The Secretary shall encourage Head Start agencies to provide compensation according to salary scales that are based on training and experience.”Wage studies have always been an important piece of information to ensure compliance with the Head Start Act. They have taken on new significance as Head Start/Early Head Start programs face a child care staffing crisis that, for many, is tied to their enrollment challenges. Programs considering a Change in Scope Request must have wage comparability data to support their application, as stated in a November 2022 Information Memorandum from the Office of Head Start.

If requesting a change in scope for the purpose of freeing up funds to increase staff compensation, the program's request should be supported by findings from the wage comparability study or by current data on comparable wages in the community or documented challenges in filling vacancies that impact the program's ability to deliver high-quality services.

What is involved in conducting a wage study? Our wage study process is grounded in the wage comparability guide prepared by the Administration for Children and Families. We start by asking agencies where they have staffing challenges to determine which positions they need to compare. Most studies include teachers, assistant teachers, and some number of the content area staff, like the Education Director, Family Services Manager, or the Health Coordinator.We also look at the geographic area. Is your agency on a state border and hiring people from multiple counties or towns? Are you in a rural area that is competing with a neighboring suburb that has higher paying jobs? We also want to know more about the local school district, because that’s usually where Head Start teachers go once they have experience and want to make more money. In most public schools, the earning potential for a teacher increases the longer they stay – not to mention the benefits available at that scale.Once we agree on the parameters for the study, FFF collects wage data from as many sources as we can find, including a point in time study of local job listings. The national shift towards wage transparency has made it much easier to find salary data than it was several years ago. We do our best to find the most relevant data and calculate the hourly wages for comparison. Sometimes, the study will also include a survey of local child care providers.In addition to the wage comparison, we also look at the economic context of the area. How much does it cost to live there? What is the housing market like? Are you competing with a retail warehouse or other strong options for entry level workers? Are you in a state with strong labor unions? How does your state rank on teacher pay? All of this information is compiled together with the wage analysis into a final report, with key findings and reflections that agencies can put to work in their next budget plan.What else can Head Start providers do right now to help with the staffing crisis? This is one area where incremental change can start to make a difference – if you have a surplus in your budget, consider putting it into salaries. But then agencies have to follow up with a sustainable funding model that ensures you can continue to increase salaries over time.To hire new people, you must have up-to-date job descriptions that include the salary range for open positions. If your organization doesn’t have a salary schedule, now is the time to create one. Wage transparency is important in building trust. If your employees know how much money they stand to make the longer they stay with you, other options may be less appealing. If you are looking for comparable salary schedules, the federal government (the nation’s largest employer!) offers a good example in the General Schedule, issued by the Office of Personnel Management.Agencies may also want to review the resources to help attract and retain qualified employees provided by the Office of Early Childhood Development. Last fall, the Department of Health and Human Services also issued an Information Memorandum on Strategies to Stabilize the Head Start Workforce. Both of these sources stress the importance of increasing pay and benefits as well as providing opportunities for professional development.If you know that current funding levels are not a good match for your program design and your agency is planning to submit a Change in Scope Request, then a wage study is required. This is part of the preparation needed to right-size the number of Head Start or Early Head Start slots. At the end of the day, wage studies are part of a series of actions included in the continuous improvement process - a community assessment, self-assessment, review of your service delivery model, and more.We encourage you to explore Foundations for Families’ Consulting Services. If your program needs assistance conducting a wage and benefits comparability study, please be in touch. Our team of consultants will work with your program to determine a process, timeline, and approach that is the best fit for your needs.Thank you.Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to use our blog posts for thought, integration, and sharing. When using or sharing content from blog posts, please attribute the original content to Foundations for Families.