10 Years Ago . . .

Today . . .

Parents had two levels of quality child care from which to choose and child care standards were among the poorest in the country.

Working families have better, more affordable choices for the care of their children.  Parents have five levels of licensing standards to better choose the quality of their child care programs.

Few children were enrolled in high quality care.

More children are enrolled in higher quality care. Close to half of the children in the county who are in regulated care are enrolled in a 3-star program (47.6%), 25.8% are enrolled in a 4-or 5-star program, 18.9% are enrolled in a 1-or 2-star program and 5.9% are enrolled in a religious sponsored GS110 program

20% of the centers had AA license. There were no nationally accredited child care centers or homes.

The quality of child care in Cumberland County has significantly increased.  84% of licensed centers are rated 3-star or higher.  There are now 9 nationally accredited child care centers and 11 nationally accredited family child care homes in the county.

Few subsidies exist for working poor.  An eligible family of four earning $1,500 a month can get help paying for child care.

More families can now receive help paying for child care.  An eligible family of four earning $3,237 a month can now get help.

There was a 40% turnover rate for center providers. The average salary for center providers was $5.96 with little or no benefits.

Incremental gains have been made in the education, compensation and retention of the early childhood workforce.  Now,

• 27% turnover rate for center providers.
• Average salary for center providers is $8.53 per hour.

There was no central point to ensure children, their families, and caregivers received the information and training they needed to provide them with a success plan for the future.

More families have access to resources and services.  There is now a CCR&R service, an online information center for parents and service providers, a comprehensive directory of services and a physical "one-stop shop" family resource center, Omni Family Resource Center.

There were very limited pre-school programs for children at risk of school failure.

Cumberland County has the most diversified More at Four Pre-kindergarten Program in the state , serving 536 children with 42% in child care facilities, 31% in Head Start, and 27% in the school system. PFC administers the $2.2 million budget.