New Study Documents Economic Impact of the Early Care and Education Industry in Georgia: November 11, 2008
Georgia’s early care and education industry generates some $4.1 billion in economic activity in the state annually and provides more than 60,000 jobs serving an estimated 383,379 children, according to the study, which was commissioned by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Additionally, the study found that the industry generates $117 million in federal, state, and local tax revenues annually through employment and spending as well as by fueling expansion in other sectors of the economy.
Vinson Institute Child and Family Policy Initiative faculty members Juanita Blount-Clark and Angela Fertig directed the research, which included a unique survey of child care providers that was designed and managed by Kelly Foster, Vinson Institute survey research specialist.
“By quantifying the daily economic activity of the child care industry, we hope to provide officials, administrators, and citizens with data-driven evidence and a better understanding of the industry’s significant financial and social contributions so that more informed decisions can be made in the future,” said Fertig, who is also an assistant professor in the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health. Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, associate professor in the College of Education, was also part of the UGA research team.
“Department of Early Care and Learning officials were committed to a project that would generate a maximum level of response,” notes Foster. “Their understanding of the critical role of the survey allowed us to come up with a very extensive survey design and a multistep process to reach as many providers as possible and make the survey easy for them to complete.” Activities included making the survey available online as well as on paper, including a toll-free phone number for questions, sending reminders, and following up with non-respondents. Michelle Bailey, data management specialist, was responsible for ensuring quality by verifying that all survey responses were accurate and recorded on the final data set.
In the end, the survey responses from 4,748 center-based providers and family child care providers constituted the data for the economic analysis and yielded current information about the industry overall.
There are more than 10,000 licensed or regulated for-profit and not-for-profit early care and education centers, family child care homes, group child care homes, pre-kindergarten programs, military family child care homes, Head Start sites, and military early care and education centers in the state, according to the study.
Writer: Ann Allen
