Community Action Project of Tulsa County, Inc. (aka ?CAP Tulsa?)

PROJECT PURPOSE

Childcare programs across the state are struggling to find and keep staff - a labor shortage made significantly worse by the pandemic. Vacancies coupled with high turnover limit the availability, reliability, and quality of childcare options for working Oklahomans, forcing far too many parents to forego work and stay home with young children instead. However, wage supplements such as sign-on bonuses and recurring stipends are a proven solution to recruit and retain childcare workers by incentivizing employment in the sector and providing competitive alternatives to menial jobs that benefit the state economy far less, such as those at fast food restaurants. CAP Tulsa proposes to use ARPA funding through 2026 to provide one-time sign-on bonuses of $500 to newly hired frontline childcare workers, and annually recurring stipends totaling up to $2,000 to retained frontline staff. Approximately 500 childcare employment positions would be impacted by requested ARPA wage supplements, enabling full capacity operation of CAP Tulsa?s 10 childcare centers serving nearly 2,000 working families across the Tulsa metro area. This proposal responds to the negative economic impacts of COVID, compensates those performing essential frontline work, and represents a strategic investment benefiting future generations while also improving services for Oklahomans today.

EVIDENCE

A recent study by the Oklahoma Senate?s Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee found two main reasons Oklahomans are not returning to work are a lack of affordable childcare and low-paying jobs. Children must be cared for to allow parents to work, and low pay is a major disincentive for people to join the childcare industry. Educational services is one of the heaviest-hit industries by the pandemic and represents great opportunity for strategic investments of ARPA funds. A study by the University of Virginia found that pay incentives significantly reduce turnover, especially among staff at childcare centers. Supporting evidence is attached.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Beneficiaries are the 500 frontline staff performing essential work, yet facing great mismatch between their employment-related health risks and compensation. In turn, investing in childcare workers benefits nearly 2,000 families residing in or near Qualified Census Tracts who will be served at CAP Tulsa?s 10 childcare centers. These families income-qualify for free childcare, meaning they earn less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Level, with most representing the working poor. Low-income families were disproportionately impacted by COVID since most lacked adequate savings to subsist during the pandemic while their household income was further reduced. Children in these families lost crucial development opportunities during the pandemic and will benefit from re-enrollment into childcare programs that prepare them for kindergarten. Finally, the state?s economy will receive spillover benefits from the renewed availability of childcare in the form of parents reentering the workforce.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The effect of wage supplements on attracting and retaining essential workers is readily measurable through monthly reports documenting the number of frontline staff vacancies filled/remaining, percentage rates of staff attrition/turnover/retention, and percentage of the agency?s full capacity in operation providing childcare for working parents. Employee satisfaction rates, along with average staff tenure, would also be measured annually. CAP Tulsa already collects this same performance data for various stakeholders, thus the agency is well-equipped to report timely, transparent results of this ARPA-funded premium pay project, and support estimates of the economic impact of childcare availability allowing Oklahomans to return to work.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma