Arkansas Step Up To Wages

From AECA:

Step Up to WAGE$ is an education-based wage supplement initiative that pays semi-annual stipends to Birth-5 teaching staff in centers and family homes.  These stipends are based on the level of education as well as continuous work hours in the same child care program during a six-month certification period. 

AECA will be using our American Rescue Plan Act funding to begin this program.  While it is a temporary fix (and what we hope will transition into permanent funding), we believe it is necessary to act now with some sort of plan to raise wages and help our programs keep qualified staff.