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Of the nearly in the United States, in a recent white paper, my colleagues and I found that 31.2% – , the latest year for which we analyzed data. Food insecurity means there is a . This rate of food insecurity is anywhere from to higher than the national average.

In Washington state and Texas, one study found 42% of child care workers experienced food insecurity, experiencing very high food insecurity. High food insecurity is when a person reports reduced quality and variety of diet. Very high food insecurity occurs when a person reports disrupted eating patterns and .

Another study in Arkansas found that .

Effects of food insecurity

People who are food insecure are at increased chances of being poor health, with conditions like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and depression, among other chronic diseases and .

Low wages and food insecurity may contribute to child care workers’ . When child care workers experience stress, they tend to reduce the amount of positive attention to children and increase their punitive responses to .

Causes of food insecurity

Overall, child care workers’ wages are low, with the median hourly wage being . This means child care workers make little more than , whose median pay is . What child care workers make is not considered a .

As a result of low wages, , including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from 2014 to 2016. This compares with the who received public assistance in that period. When so many child care workers rely on public assistance, it reveals how many of them don’t make enough money to get by.

Nearly all U.S. child care workers are . This workforce is central to providing to children up to 5 years old.

Early childhood researchers and policymakers have focused on increasing the education and training of the child care workforce to bolster quality. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment that lead teachers, the primary teachers in early childhood classrooms who are responsible for day-to-day management of a classroom, at least have a bachelor’s degree and that assistant teachers at least have a child development associate certificate or equivalent. Despite the fact that the more education child care workers have the they deliver, many states require only , and some states do not have any education requirements for entry-level positions.

On average, child care workers who have a bachelor’s degree do . However, going to college for child care workers as it does for those in other fields. Child care workers with a bachelor’s degree average $14.70 per hour, which is of those with a bachelor’s degree – $27 per hour.

It’s one thing to expect child care workers to get more education to become better at what they do. But it is also important to ensure that additional education pays off.

Policymakers have recently focused on child care workers’ wages. For example, the Build Back Better legislation to meet the cost of care for children from birth to 5 years old. The cost of care would include wages.

is a doctoral candidate and research assistant at The Ohio State University.

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