Child care crisis costing WA’s economy billions, keeping parents from work, harming local businesses, driving high turnover and short-staffing State budget isn’t the only crisis facing WA lawmakers

Written By Sloane Shearer

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 17, 2025 

Contact: Kristin Hyde, 206-491-0773, kristin@powerhouse-strategic.com

Olympia, WA - Last night early educators, parents, and state lawmakers met to discuss priorities for the 2026 legislative session. Parents and early educators asked state legislators to:

  • Pass HB 1128/SB 5062 to establish a statewide Child Care Workforce Standards Board to address low wages, understaffing, high turnover and high costs at Washington’s 6,000 child care centers.

  • Streamline regulations to help child care programs open and expand, and change the state’s rate subsidy rate setting tool to accurately capture the cost of quality care.

  • Make no cuts to child care funding 

Paola Herrera, a MomsRising member and parent from Walla Walla, shared: “I know firsthand what it feels like when child care support suddenly disappears – and the harm that causes for children, families and communities. Earlier this year, a beloved afterschool and summer program in my community shut its doors for good due to budget cuts.  There are very few affordable summer care options here in Walla Walla, and the program was a lifeline. I worry that if more child care funding is slashed in our next state budget, many more programs will close their doors – forcing parents to scramble for safe options, leave the jobs they need to support their families, or weigh impossible choices between the high cost of child care and other essentials. That’s why I’m determined to speak out as lawmakers prepare for the legislative session."

Tricia Schroeder, President of SEIU 925, which represents early educators, shared: “Child care is the work that makes all other work possible. But most child care providers don't make enough to afford a basic one-bedroom apartment. Most have skipped rest or lunch breaks, or worked while sick, because of short staffing, or inadequate time off. Right now, we are stuck in a vicious cycle of unaffordable care for parents, unaffordable costs for smaller businesses, and unaffordable pay for providers.

The Child Care Workforce Standards Board will bring together workers, employers, parents, and the state to transform the child care industry in Washington. We can take a giant step in the right direction to build our child care workforce and ensure that it works for everyone in our communities.”

Ilene Pimpleton, an early educator in Auburn, shared:“Most child care teachers are living one crisis away from losing everything. Thousands of center‑based teachers receive no medical benefits at all, even though they work in environments with persistent exposure to illness and high physical demands. As someone who has devoted years to caring for and teaching young children, I know how essential this work is and how unsustainable it has become for too many of us. The system is asking teachers to carry more than we can continue to bear alone. We hope Washington lawmakers will stand with us and help build a childcare system that truly works for the people who make it possible."

Background

In Washington state, there are an estimated 20,000 early educators working in more than 6,000 child care facilities, the majority of whom are women, immigrants and people of color. These essential educators are among the lowest paid workers in our economy. Early educators often don’t have access to benefits such as employer-provided health care, consistent meal and rest breaks, and paid time off, driving high turnover and inadequate staffing which impact the quality of care children receive. 

Findings from a recent survey of childcare center workers underscore the problem:

  • 88% make $29/hour or less, far below what is needed to afford a modest 1-bedroom apartment in Washington (66% make between $16.66/hour-$25/hour)

  • 81% say they have skipped rest or lunch breaks or worked while sick or with a serious medical condition due to understaffing, not knowing their rights, or inadequate paid time off.

  • More than half say accessing affordable health insurance is a big challenge 

  • Early educators say they need better pay, better benefits, better staffing and more training to better be able to handle behavioral issues

Washington state early educators are advocating for legislation that would create a Child Care Workforce Standards Board as a step toward improving conditions for child care workers. The Board would bring workers, employers, parents, and agencies together to develop rules to improve standards in the industry. 

Other states have used workforce standards boards to raise standards for similar workforces, including nursing home and domestic workers, including California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.

Companion bills (HB 1128/SB 5062) establish a Child Care Workforce Standards Board. The measure is supported by SEIU 925, representing thousands of child care workers, the Washington State Labor Council, the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, MomsRising, the Imagine Institute, Children’s Campaign Fund, and other stakeholders.

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Sloane Shearer