Cost of Quality Childcare Survey Analysis
February 2012
Overview
Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsNumber of staff, average hours worked/week, hourly wage,
annual salarySubstitute teacher use and cost, total amount spent on
supervisionHealthcare, Unemployment Insurance, and Fringe Benefits
Section 2: Professional DevelopmentCourses/programs, materials, staffing costs, release time
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Overview
Section 3: Occupancy CostsQuality of space, geographic location, tenure statusOccupancy costs, upkeep, subsidized costs/services
Section 4: Curriculum and AssessmentSpending on curriculum materials and assessment toolsHours devoted to curriculum preparation and
administering/scoring student assessments
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Overview
Section 5: Classroom MaterialsGeneral classroom expenses, new or used purchasesPersonal care, food-related, computer-related expensesJanitorial services, cleaning-related duties
Section 6: Other ExpensesOther miscellaneous expensesParent outreach/involvement
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Respondent Profile
379 respondents (after removing all duplicates, incomplete or invalid responses)
22.8% response rate
Program classifications57% center-based or school-based programs36% family child care programs7% after-school or out of school time programs
Enrollment by age group Infants: average 5.5 enrolled, median 3Toddlers/preschool: average 35.8 enrolled, median 19School-age: average 40.4, median 8.5
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Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsNumber of Direct Service Staff
For the director and assistant director positions, a strong majority of respondents employ just one staff member. Conversely, half of respondents indicated that between two and 11 staff members are employed in the teacher position, with a group average of approximately nine teachers on staff.
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Director Assistant Director Teacher Assistant
TeacherClassroom
SupportAdministrative
Support
Count 295 121 297 237 65 120
Mean 1.69 1.21 8.83 4.20 3.88 2.68
Minimum 1 1 1 1 1 0.5
1st Quartile 1 1 2 1 1 1
Median 1 1 6 2 2 2
3rd Quartile 1 1 11 4 4 3
Maximum 150 4 80 78 30 15
Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsHours Worked Per Week
Directors, assistant directors, and teachers were most likely to work full time (40 hours per week) or close to it, while assistant teachers, classroom support, and administrative support typically appeared to work on a part-time basis.
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Director Assistant Director Teacher Assistant
TeacherClassroom
SupportAdministrative
Support
Count 292 120 291 232 61 113
Mean 42.12 35.89 36.35 25.94 24.57 33.07
Minimum 1 2 1 1 0.25 1
1st Quartile 40 35 31.75 16 8 30
Median 40 40 40 25 30 37.5
3rd Quartile 50 40 40 35.06 40 40
Maximum 75 55 100 100 42 80
Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsHourly Wage
Respondents reported higher average hourly wages for administrative support and directors, followed by classroom support and assistant directors.
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Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsAverage Hourly Wage
Some of the highest average hourly wages are observed for administrative support in central city locations and after-school programs ($24.30 and $24.04) as well as directors in town locations and center-based or school-based programs ($22.86 and $22.16). Some of the lowest average hourly wages were for assistant teachers in rural settings and family child care programs, as well as assistant directors in family child care programs.
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Director Assistant Director Teacher Assistant
TeacherClassroom
SupportAdmin. Support
After-School or Out of School Time
Program$19.81 $15.10 $11.58 $9.62 $15.50 $24.04
Center-Based or School-Based $22.16 $17.83 $13.78 $10.33 $19.06 $22.16
Family Child Care Program $16.14 $9.33 $12.67 $9.43 $10.85 $22.80
Central City $21.53 $18.06 $13.07 $10.51 $15.53 $24.30Rural $18.42 $18.48 $12.13 $9.37 -- $19.30
Suburban $18.46 $15.38 $14.42 $10.72 $20.33 $18.89Town $22.86 $17.08 $13.19 $9.95 $17.53 $21.51
Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsAnnual Salary
Again, the highest average salaries, as demonstrated by the group mean and median, were observed among directors and administrative support staff.
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Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsAverage Annual Salary
Administrative support staff and directors are among the highest paid, most notably in after-school programs and family child care programs (administrative support), center-based or school-based programs (directors), and central city locations (highest for all positions).
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Director Assistant Director Teacher Assistant
Teacher
Classroom
Support
Admin. Support
After-School or Out of School Time
Program$43,317 $30,964 $19,469 $18,061 $24,980 $50,001
Center-Based or School-Based $51,129 $39,605 $30,373 $17,425 $32,161 $46,181
Family Child Care Program $39,869 $23,075 $34,200 $14,104 $8,508 $50,306
Central City $57,356 $40,496 $34,767 $20,178 $30,836 $51,804
Rural $43,920 $40,509 $31,438 -- -- $35,686
Suburban $44,780 $34,300 $33,250 $17,741 $2,500 $28,104
Town $45,013 $35,503 $26,218 $12,830 $1,500 $45,039
Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsSubstitute Teacher Use and Cost
Responses varied for the average number of days substitutes were used: the group median was 20, while the group average was 54. Conversely, over half of respondents indicated that the average cost of a substitute for one day of work was between $50 and $96, with a group median and mean of $72 and $78, respectively.
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Number of Days Substitutes Were Used
Average Cost of a Substitute for One Day of Work
Count 201 216
Mean 54 $78
Minimum 1 $5
1st Quartile 5 $50
Median 20 $72
3rd Quartile 60 $96
Maximum 300 $688
Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsSupervision Spending
Total spending on supervision Mean: $110,397
Median: $34,000
Mid-50%: $5,000-$100,000
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Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsBenefits
Teachers and directors were the most likely to receive all three types of benefits, and healthcare benefits tended to be the most common benefits received across the board.
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Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsBenefits
The highest average amounts were spent on healthcare benefits for teachers, fringe benefits for classroom support, and fringe benefits for teachers. Overall, unemployment insurance benefits had the lowest average annual amounts across all position categories.
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Section 1: Staff Salaries and BenefitsAverage Total Benefits
Facilities based in central city locations had the highest total amounts for all benefits, most notably fringe benefits ($87,815) and health benefits ($66,661). The lowest average total benefits appear to be centered on unemployment benefits, which had some of the lowest total amounts overall, and among programs in rural locations.
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Total Health Benefits
Total Unemployment
Benefits
Total Fringe Benefits
After-School or Out of School Time Program $25,211 $13,572 $63,172
Center-Based or School-Based $51,122 $14,818 $42,821
Family Child Care Program $16,716 $13,267 $19,777
Central City $66,661 $22,266 $87,815Rural $22,739 $6,468 $5,844
Suburban $42,722 $5,298 $32,343Town $34,491 $9,935 $20,638
Section 2: Professional DevelopmentSpending
Teachers and directors were the most likely to benefit from spending on professional development courses and/or programs (based on number of respondents – see accompanying report). Overall, spending on professional development courses and/or programs appears to be highest for classroom support staff and teachers.
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Section 2: Professional DevelopmentSpending
Again, teachers and directors were the most likely to benefit from spending on professional development materials (based on number of respondents – see accompanying report). On average, teachers received the highest average amounts of spending on professional development materials, while the values were generally comparable across the other four direct service positions.
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Section 2: Professional DevelopmentSpending
Of the five categories, the most common type of professional development for which spending was reported was “professional development for licensing requirements” (count shown in accompanying report), while the highest group mean was for “college-level courses.”
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Section 2: Professional DevelopmentStaffing Costs
When asked to indicate how much their facility spends each year on instructors hired to teach professional development courses, half of the 114 respondents who answered this question provided a response of between $300 and $1,875, with a group mean of $2,393.
When asked how much their facility spends each year on staffing costs associated with covering staff who are participating in professional development courses or programs, half of the 97 respondents reported spending between $300 and $2,000 for these staffing costs, with a group mean of $1,819.
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Section 2: Professional DevelopmentRelease Time
When asked about the number of hours available in professional development release time each year for direct service staff, all positions received roughly similar amounts of release time, with classroom support staff and teachers receiving a few more days for professional development, on average.
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Section 2: Professional DevelopmentAverage Total Spending and Release Time
Some of the highest average costs were in central city locations (courses/programs and other costs) and among after-school or out of school time programs (other costs). Professional development materials appear to have very low levels of spending, most notably among rural and town locations and family child care programs. Central city locations appear to allow for the most professional development release time, while rural locations seem to allow the least.
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Courses and Programs Materials Other PD
CostsRelease Time
(Hours)
After-School or Out of School Time Program $4,394 $1,398 $4,521 79.2
Center-Based or School-Based $4,365 $1,118 $4,207 74.6
Family Child Care Program $1,476 $1,023 $1,209 60.6
Central City $6,552 $1,436 $5,417 90.1Rural $1,083 $380 $2,291 49.2
Suburban $2,533 $1,101 $3,227 79.2Town $1,821 $1,001 $1,783 59.8
Section 3: Occupancy CostsQuality of Space Class A buildings are the most prestigious
buildings competing for premier office users with rents above average for the area. Buildings have high quality standard finishes, state of the art systems, exceptional accessibility and a definite market presence.
Class B buildings compete for a wide range of users with rents in the average range for the area. Building finishes are fair to good for the area. Building finishes are fair to good for the area and systems are adequate, but the building does not compete with Class A at the same price.
Class C buildings compete for tenants requiring functional space at rents below the average for the area.
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Section 3: Occupancy CostsGeographic LocationThe most common response was “town,” at 42.9
percent of respondents, followed by “central city” at 29.1 percent.
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Section 3: Occupancy CostsTenure Status
Own: tenant is the sole owner of all facility properties
Rent: a short-term agreement with a landlord that can be changed or amended on a regular basis
Lease: a long-term contract with a landlord renting land and buildings to a tenant
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Section 3: Occupancy CostsProperty Owners
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Large-Scale
Maintenance Projects
Utilities Classroom Play Spaces or Environments
Count 78 138 84Mean $10,398 $14,170 $2,983
Minimum $50 $200 $501st Quartile $1,275 $3,000 $500
Median $3,000 $5,000 $1,0003rd Quartile $10,000 $10,000 $2,125Maximum $100,000 $228,900 $35,000
Painting Furniture Equipment Cooking Supplies
Small Repairs & Renovations
Count 101 90 102 78 107Mean $983 $1,292 $1,666 $729 $2,742
Minimum $10 $50 $50 $15 $1001st Quartile $200 $213 $300 $100 $475
Median $350 $500 $500 $400 $8003rd Quartile $1,000 $1,800 $2,000 $925 $2,000Maximum $8,000 $7,500 $11,090 $5,000 $45,000
Section 3: Occupancy CostsProperty Renters
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Rent Utilities Classroom Play Spaces or Environments
Count 40 29 29Mean $48,044 $17,884 $4,878
Minimum $1,000 $500 $1001st Quartile $12,900 $2,000 $600
Median $18,600 $4,320 $1,0003rd Quartile $36,000 $9,360 $3,000Maximum $600,000 $300,000 $62,000
Painting Furniture Equipment Cooking Supplies
Small Repairs & Renovations
Count 22 26 29 17 34Mean $3,735 $3,587 $3,531 $24,610 $3,553
Minimum $100 $100 $100 $25 $1001st Quartile $250 $500 $500 $200 $300
Median $500 $1,100 $1,000 $300 $8063rd Quartile $1,000 $2,000 $2,000 $600 $2,717Maximum $61,500 $61,500 $61,500 $400,000 $61,500
Section 3: Occupancy CostsProperty Lessees
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Rent Utilities Classroom Play Spaces or Environments
Count 51 51 44Mean $70,044 $18,547 $3,771
Minimum $1,500 $300 $3001st Quartile $20,000 $2,450 $1,000
Median $39,000 $8,000 $2,0003rd Quartile $98,801 $19,437 $4,625Maximum $368,000 $160,008 $21,113
Painting Furniture Equipment Cooking Supplies
Small Repairs & Renovations
Count 42 42 50 26 51Mean $1,370 $1,792 $2,381 $1,065 $3,631
Minimum $100 $100 $100 $100 $1001st Quartile $300 $500 $500 $213 $1,000
Median $700 $1,250 $1,500 $425 $1,7003rd Quartile $2,000 $2,375 $3,000 $1,375 $5,000Maximum $6,000 $8,000 $20,000 $5,000 $30,000
Section 3: Occupancy CostsUtilities
Lessees and renters had higher mean values for utilities than owners, at $18,547 and $17,884 in annual costs, respectively.
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Section 3: Occupancy CostsClassroom Play Spaces/Environments
Renters had the highest mean values for spending on classroom play spaces and environments, while owners had the lowest mean value.
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Section 3: Occupancy CostsSubsidized Costs/Services
Renters and lessees were asked if rent, utilities, or repair, renovation, and maintenance services were subsidized for or donated to their facility. The most common item (23.3 percent of respondents) to be subsidized or donated to lessees was repair, renovation, and maintenance services. Conversely, rent and repair, renovation, and maintenance services were subsidized or donated to nearly one-fifth of renters. Populations include 52 renters and 69 lessees.
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Section 3: Occupancy CostsAverage Total Occupancy Costs
Owners have some of the lowest overall costs in all cases except among after-school programs. Conversely, renters and lessees had the highest total occupancy costs, especially among center-based or school-based programs and in central city locations.
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Owners Renters Lessees
After-School or Out of School Time Program $81,390 $18,122 $83,800
Center-Based or School-Based $38,208 $113,556 $89,757
Family Child Care Program $10,401 $18,677 $34,700
Central City $45,791 $218,845 $140,357Rural $15,740 $34,666 $67,751
Suburban $22,952 $70,233 $70,535Town $16,641 $36,083 $41,773
Section 4: Curriculum and AssessmentSpending
Typical spending was considerably higher for curriculum materials than for assessment tools, and the group mean for curriculum materials was more than double the group mean for assessment tools.
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Curriculum Materials Assessment Tools Count 249 200Mean $4,502 $1,996
Minimum $50 $201st Quartile $500 $195
Median $1,000 $3253rd Quartile $3,500 $1,000Maximum $230,000 $230,000
Section 4: Curriculum and AssessmentHours Devoted to Curriculum Preparation
In general, it appears that directors, assistant directors, and teachers all dedicate approximately the same amount of time to curriculum preparation (average of around eight hours each week) while assistant teachers devote an average of 5.3 hours each week.
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Director Assistant Director Teacher Assistant Teacher
Count 180 70 217 95Mean 8.24 8.04 7.89 5.32
Minimum 1 1 1 0.51st Quartile 3 3 3 2
Median 5 5 5 53rd Quartile 10 10 10 5Maximum 60 35 80 25
Section 4: Curriculum and AssessmentHours Devoted to Assessments
The mean value for assistant directors was highest at 5.3 hours each week, followed by teachers (5.1 hours) and directors (4.8 hours).
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Director Assistant Director Teacher Assistant
Teacher
Count 113 49 174 55Mean 4.78 5.31 5.06 3.26
Minimum 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.51st Quartile 1.5 2 2 1
Median 3 4 3 23rd Quartile 5 5 5 5Maximum 40 38 75 20
Section 4: Curriculum and AssessmentAverage Spending and Hours Devoted
For spending, central city facilities had the highest average total amount, while family child care programs spent the least on average. Greater amounts of time were typically devoted to curriculum preparation in after-school or out of school time programs and in central city locations, while much less time was devoted to administering and scoring student assessments in after-school or out of school time programs and in family child care programs.
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Total Spending
Curriculum Preparation (Hours)
Assessments (Hours)
After-School or Out of School Time Program $10,887 18.4 6.2
Center-Based or School-Based $8,344 17.8 10.7
Family Child Care Program $1,301 13.8 6.1
Central City $11,806 19.1 9.8Rural $2,609 16.7 9.1
Suburban $3,263 16.1 8.9Town $4,187 14.4 8.3
Section 5: Classroom MaterialsSpending
Art materials received the highest group mean spending amount, followed by materials to support language and literacy and materials for gross motor development. Interestingly, the group medians for all classroom expenses (excluding art materials) were between $173 and $250, indicating that the middle ranges of values for all expenses were somewhat similar.
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Section 5: Classroom MaterialsUsed or Second-Hand Purchases
Over half of respondents purchased less than 10 percent of these classroom materials second-hand or used. Childcare providers that purchased more than 75 percent of these items second-hand or used constituted just 6 percent of the sample.
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Section 5: Classroom MaterialsPersonal Care Routines
Annual spending on cots and bedding typically ranged from $100 to $500, with a group average of $891, making it the least costly material related to personal care routines. Toileting and diapering was the most expensive, with half of respondents indicating that their facility spent between $150 and $1,000, and a group average of $1,563.
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Section 5: Classroom MaterialsFood-Related Expenses
The most costly food-related expense appeared to be the cost of staff to provide food, which had a group average of $20,323. Although just 65 respondents indicated that this expense was applicable, half of those respondents reported paying between $2,000 and $20,462. Snacks were the least costly food-related expense, which cost half of respondents between $1,000 and $5,000 and had a group average of $4,950.
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Section 5: Classroom MaterialsFood Allowance from CACFP
A total of 148 respondents indicated that they do receive a food allowance from the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which amounts to 56 percent of respondents who answered this question. The amount received typically ranged from $300 to $23,250, and the group average of $26,749 suggests that there were several facilities receiving very large amounts from CACFP.
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Amount Received from CACFP
Count 128
Mean $26,749
Minimum $300
1st Quartile $3,000
Median $6,000
3rd Quartile $23,250
Maximum $335,694
Section 5: Classroom MaterialsComputer-Related Expenses and Office Supplies
Although budgets for office supplies appeared to be somewhat higher than the three types of computer-related expenses overall, the group average for IT support is by far the highest of the four, most likely because of several facilities budgeting very large amounts of funding for this expense.
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Section 5: Classroom MaterialsAverage Total Spending The highest amounts of spending tended to be in central city locations and
center-based or school-based programs, especially for food-related and computer-related expenses. The lowest amounts of spending were in the areas of personal care spending (especially family child care programs, after-school programs, and rural locations) and computer-related expenses (specifically in family child care programs and town-based facilities).
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Learning Materials
Personal Care Spending
Food-Related Expenses
Computer-Related
ExpensesAfter-School or Out of School Time Program $4,751 $1,519 $19,156 $7,968
Center-Based or School-Based $10,863 $4,487 $34,594 $27,731
Family Child Care Program $2,162 $877 $7,693 $1,024
Central City $16,824 $6,638 $57,854 $49,460Rural $3,439 $1,237 $7,866 $1,725
Suburban $3,260 $1,744 $15,190 $1,925Town $3,641 $1,599 $10,106 $1,580
Section 5: Classroom MaterialsJanitorial Services and Spending When asked if their facility employs a janitor or contracts with a janitorial
service, slightly over half of respondents answered affirmatively (132 “yes” versus 129 “no”). Facilities that use a janitor or janitorial service budget a considerably higher amount for these services than facilities without janitorial services spend on cleaning supplies.
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Amount Budgeted
for Janitorial Services
No Janitorial Services: Amount Spent on Cleaning Supplies
Count 110 102Mean $18,339 $841
Minimum $20 $301st Quartile $4,000 $250
Median $10,000 $4503rd Quartile $20,000 $700Maximum $230,000 $9,500
Section 5: Classroom MaterialsAverage Spending on Janitorial Services and Cleaning
After-school or out of school time programs and central city-based facilities appeared to spend the most on janitorial services, while center-based or school-based programs and rural-based facilities spent the most on cleaning supplies.
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Section 5: Classroom MaterialsCleaning-Related Duties Directors and teachers were most likely to perform any cleaning-related
duties (count of responses not shown here). Interestingly, all four direct service positions typically spent the same amount of time performing these duties: across all job categories, the middle-50 percent of responses were in approximately the same range. The group means, however, indicated that teachers and directors may have spent more time performing cleaning-related duties.
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Section 6: Other ExpensesMiscellaneous Spending
The widest middle 50-percent ranges of values were provided for transportation and administrative office supports, and the highest group means were for administrative office supports, transportation, and licensing fees.
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Section 6: Other ExpensesParent Outreach and Involvement
The highest group median value was for parent nights ($400), while the highest group mean was for home visits ($3,300).
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Section 6: Other ExpensesParent Outreach and Involvement
Both parent outreach/communications and “other spending,” which includes items such as advertising, accountants, and transportation, were highest in central city locations and in center-based or school-based programs, and were lowest at family child care programs.
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Other Expenses Parent Outreach
After-School or Out of School Time Program $76,023 $2,783
Center-Based or School-Based $100,508 $5,351
Family Child Care Program $2,150 $459
Central City $193,134 $7,132
Rural $10,127 $1,417
Suburban $14,991 $3,178
Town $12,098 $1,473