Early Care and Education Access and Living Wage

The ECE ALW Implementation Plan builds on work already done in Washington. This includes the Child Care Collaborative Taskforce, the Early Learning Coordination Plan, the Early Educator Design Team, and the Fair Start for Kids Act.

The Plan focuses on how to create a child care system that is available to all families and paid for with public funding. It also focuses on making sure early care and education workers earn living wages and receive benefits. 

The Plan is DCYF's roadmap for improving early care and education. It includes a set of policy ideas that can grow over time to build a mixed-delivery system that is open to all families. 

The plan is organized into four main goals, each with specific objectives:

1. Families have access to affordable, high-quality ECE that meets their needs
   • Create a child care guarantee for families who want and need care
   • Reduce barriers and improve fair access for all families
   • Expand care options (before/after school, summer, evenings and weekends)
   • Support children with special needs
2. Support a strong and stable ECE workforce
   • Ensure providers earn living wages and receive benefits 
   • Help providers meet requirements and offer high-quality care
   • Increase mental health and relationship-based supports for children and providers 
3. Use data and improve systems
   • Use strong data to guide decisions and increase accountability
   • Support inclusive and integrated classrooms
   • Make sure programs are fair, respectful, and focused on quality 
4. Ensure enough facilities to expand the ECE system
   • Make the best use of funding for early learning facilities 
   • Explore new ways to meet long-term space and building needs 

The Plan also includes strategies for each objective. These strategies explain why the work matters and how it can be done.

The Plan was developed based on direction from the Legislature. A Steering Committee helped guide the work. This group included DCYF, Child Care Aware of Washington, SEIU 925, and input from families.

Community input was a key part of the process. DCYF worked with advisory groups, staff, and a partner organization, Washington Communities for Children (WCFC), to hold conversations across the state. Feedback from families and providers helped shape the Plan. 

To learn more about the feedback that informed the ALW Plan:

• Access and Living Wage Engagement Findings Summary 
• Early Care & Education Access and Living Wage Proviso Report 

The Plan is designed to roll out over 10 years. The first phase connects to ongoing expansion of Working Connections Child Care and payment rate increases.

Some lower-cost steps, like planning and research, will begin as funding becomes available.

The full timeline depends on decisions and funding from the Washington state Legislature.

Due to a state budget shortfall, the 2025 legislative session reduced funding for some early care and education programs and delayed some planned expansions under the Fair Start for Kids Act.

The Plan still aims to reach long-term goals, including keeping family costs at or below 7% of income and providing living wages for workers. However, current budget limits affect how quickly progress can be made.

Even with these challenges, DCYF remains committed to this long-term goal and will continue working toward it over time. 

ECONorthwest helped develop cost estimates for expanding child care access and providing a phased approach  over a 10-year period starting in 2029. This timeline matches updates made to the Fair Start for Kids Act during the 2025 legislative session.

More detailed cost information is available upon request.

DCYF will update the Plan every two years. These updates may include changes to strategies based on new funding, policy decisions, or economic conditions. 

DCYF has taken steps to get ready to put the Plan into action when funding is available. This includes: 

• Planning and research work
• Continued study of facility needs
• Outreach to families about early care and education options

DCYF also received federal approval to use a new way of setting child care rates. Instead of market rates, the state can now base rates using the Cost of Quality Care Rate Model. This change will require additional funding and approval from the state Legislature.

Many strategies in the Plan require more planning and input from partners and communities. This work began in fall 2025.

DCYF is also working on a Facilities Exploration project tied to Goal 4. This project will result in a detailed plan by June of 2026. The results will be added to future updates of the ALW Plan.

Fair Start for Kids Act (FSKA)
The Fair Start for Kids Act improved access to child care and increased support for providers.  The ALW Plan builds on this work and uses it as a starting point. However, some progress has slowed due to funding cuts and delays from the 2025 legislative session. 

Early Education Design Team
The Plan builds on recommendations to change how child care rates are set. It supports moving from market-based rates to rates based on the true cost of quality care. 

Early Learning Coordination Plan
The ALW Plan aligns with broader goals of improving outcomes for children, families, and early learning professionals. 

Child Care for WA Policy Platform
The ALW Plan was informed by ideas from the Child Care for WA campaign, which gathered input from families and providers across the state. While there are some differences, both efforts share a long-term goal of expanding access to child care and improving wages and benefits for providers. 

Learn more about the Child Care for WA campaign.