Early educators are essential to providing children with a high-quality early learning experience that will lay the foundation for their growth and development.
Early education is in crisis.
Early education programs are struggling to stay fully staffed, with many closing their doors or enrolling fewer children. Low pay leads to early educators leaving their jobs, which creates a shortage of programs that working families (and our economy) depend on. Many early educators in our county make an hourly wage that is one-third of what is needed to make ends meet; and yet, these professionals are responsible for educating the next generation of learners.
High-quality early learning programs are critical to positive child development, and the lack of available and affordable programs leave families scrambling. With fewer spaces in early learning programs, parents struggle to stay in the workforce. Recent estimates show that insufficient early education in California costs parents, businesses, and taxpayers $17 billion each year.
Innovative wage enhancement program for early educators in 2025.
Thanks to ongoing efforts to support the local early care and education workforce, stakeholder engagement, and a planning process led by First 5 Contra Costa, the proposed Contra Costa wage enhancement program for early educators began being implemented in early 2025.
CocoKids is implementing the Contra Costa wage enhancement program for early care and education providers, called the Child Care Boost Initiative, using county Measure X sales tax funding allocated by the Board of Supervisors. The initial pilot program will provide approximately $1,000 per month for 18 months to 120 child care professionals in direct care roles in Contra Costa County. The program aims to retain child care professionals who work in child care deserts, or areas of our county where families have too few options for child care. By supporting child care professionals, this program will also be providing stability for the hundreds of families who depend on those child care programs to go to work.
Success!
In February of 2025, CocoKids successfully launched the Boost Initiative for early educators in Contra Costa. Over 320 child care sites applied for the program, representing well over 700 early educators. A lottery was held to select among eligible applicants; 123 dedicated professionals have been invited to join the Boost program, including providers in 36 family child care homes and 6 early learning centers from across our diverse county.
We are proud to be partnering on this exciting program with CocoKids, and we thank all of the early educators and staff who applied. Stay tuned for more information about the next application cycle.
