Launched in late 2022, the PEF was created to bring CCEE educator salaries in line with similarly trained and certified public school teachers in Washington, DC. Initially structured as temporary fixed payments delivered directly to educators, the program shifted in its third year to a facility payment model that incorporated minimum required salaries into employer payrolls. The program also began providing access to subsidized health insurance through the HealthCare4ChildCare initiative in 2023. With support from the Bezos Family Foundation, the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, DC Action, and the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative based at the Washington Area Women's Foundation, Mathematica conducted the PEF Impact and Cost Effectiveness (PEF Impact) Study to help inform discussions among researchers, policymakers, and community leaders about the effectiveness of this program.

PEF Impact comprised three complementary study activities. Sector-level labor market studies used federal employer data and synthetic control methods to estimate impacts on CCEE employment, wages, and establishments. Benefit-cost analyses conducted in partnership with the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education estimated the program’s economic value under the direct educator and facility payment models. The PEF Workforce Impact Study, conducted in partnership with the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education and the National Workforce Registry Alliance, linked DC administrative records with data contributed by workforce registries in Illinois, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to estimate impacts on individual staff and facilities.

Labor market findings from the first three years of the program show that the PEF increased CCEE employment by about 11 percent, or an estimated 341 workers, by the end of 2024. Benefit-cost analyses found that, although the PEF required a substantial commitment of resources, its benefits exceeded its costs under both the direct educator and facility payment models, with estimated one-year social returns on investment of 23 and 21 percent, respectively. The workforce impact study found that the PEF increased wages as intended, strengthened staff retention and facility recruitment, increased center staffing, and improved qualifications among staff and across center workforces.

Notable Public Coverage

• Listen to Episode 3 of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) podcast, Small Talk: Big Ideas About Little Learners, featuring Owen Schochet discussing findings from Mathematica’s three-year labor-market and benefit-cost analyses. NAEYC’s accompanying article also highlights the research.
• Read a story in The Washington Post that cites impact findings and references findings from Mathematica’s benefit-cost analysis presented at an April 2026 panel to explore the economic returns of the PEF.
• Read this article and this article from The 74 that cite impact findings, explore workforce growth, and reference findings from Mathematica’s benefit-cost analysis estimating average wage subsidy received by DC early educators through the PEF.
• Explore a case study from Results for America that provides a look at the results and accomplishments of the PEF and cites Mathematica’s research related to the program.
• Read an article and listen to an audio segment by WAMU that references Mathematica’s research on the impacts and cost-effectiveness of pay supplements for child care and early education workers in DC.
• Read an article in the Washington City Paper that cites Mathematica’s research showing that DC child care programs hired more workers than they could have without the PEF, with benefits emerging after less than one year of the program.
• Read an article  and listen to NPR radio segments here and here that refer to Mathematica’s research on the one-year return on investment of the PEF.
• Read an article in Vox that mentions Mathematica's research showing that boosting the pay of preschool and daycare workers through the PEF helped quickly increase the size of the early care and education workforce, and that other states and localities are taking note of these early effects.
• Two-year impact findings were cited in support of bipartisan federal legislation introduced by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) calling for a competitive grant program for states and localities interested in adopting or expanding educator pay supplement programs. 
• In restoring $70 million to the Fund in the final FY 2025 budget, Mathematica’s findings were cited by the DC Council as justification for continued investment in the program.
• Read an interview in Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity with Mathematica’s Owen Schochet about the two-year labor-market analysis, which found that supplemental payments have helped hire and retain local early childhood educators in Washington, DC.
• Read an article in The Hechinger Report that cites research by Mathematica about the early impacts of a program that has boosted the pay of preschool and daycare workers in DC.
• Read an article from MarketWatch that cites research from Mathematica showing how increased pay for preschool and day care workers in DC has helped boost employment levels at a time when retention and turnover are a nationwide challenge in the early childhood education workforce.
• Read an op-ed in Fast Company that cites Mathematica’s recent research on how the PEF has resulted in an early boost to the number of educators in day care and preschool.
• Read a story in The Washington Post about the uncertain future of the PEF in Washington, DC, which cites Mathematica’s finding that the program quickly increased early educator employment levels following its launch in late 2022.
• Read a post in The B&G Report discussing Mathematica’s research on the early employment impacts of the PEF in the first year of the program.