Designing and Implementing the DC Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund | From Vision to Reality

February 10, 2025
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In 2018, the District of Columbia (“the District”) City Council passed the Birth-to-Three for All DC Act (B-3 Act), a groundbreaking policy package designed to strengthen early care and education (ECE) for infants and toddlers. A central component of the B-3 Act is the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund (the Fund), a groundbreaking initiative that aims to support and stabilize the early childhood workforce through increased wages and improved access to health insurance through the HealthCare4ChildCare Program (HC4CC). By improving compensation and overall well-being for educators, the Fund aims to increase the supply of high–quality ECE. 

The Fund represents the culmination of decades of advocacy and incremental policy reforms. This resource provides an opportunity to learn and share insights about its design and implementation. To capture these lessons, Child Trends conducted an evaluation of the Fund that included an analysis of its historical background as well as research that facilitated a high-level understanding about how the Fund was implemented given its history and immediate impact on educators.

This study sought to explore the following research questions: 

  1. What was the catalyst for establishing the Fund? What were the root causes and circumstances surrounding the disparities in compensation within the District’s ECE workforce?
  2. What groundwork led to the establishment of the Fund in the District?
  3. How have policy conversations and shifts aligned with the realities faced by ECE educators?
  4. How do ECE educators perceive and experience the Fund? Do these experiences differ for various groups, such as center-based educators, home-based educators, and educators from specific racial or ethnic groups?


Our study is informed by a review of literature and policy; interviews with individuals who played major roles in advocating for, designing, or implementing the Fund; and focus groups with educators and directors/administrators (read about our approach on the methods tab). Key findings and highlights from our work are documented below and further explored in the full study report.  

Key Findings and Highlights

  • The Fund emerged from a long history of strategic and intentional policy changes and unwavering advocacy for ECE in the District.

    • Decades of incremental policy change established a legal precedent for the Fund and built community buy-in.  
    • The influx of high-income earners to the District in the early 2000s presented a unique opportunity to implement a progressive income tax that would fully finance the Fund.  
    • The sustained efforts of advocates and community members helped establish a strong campaign that ultimately led to the passage of the B-3 Act.

  • The Fund was designed—and continues to be refined—with community input.

    • Nearly everyone we spoke with in our interviews and focus groups discussed the importance of clear, transparent communication with educators and directors.
    • Partnerships with community-based organizations and ongoing research studies provided real-time insights that informed program updates.

  • The Fund is beginning to address equity- and workforce stability-related issues in ECE and is enhancing early educators’ and ECE programs’ fiscal well-being.

    • The Fund’s design stage included attention to the breadth of the ECE workforce in the District, which helped address equity issues within the field.
    • The Fund has the potential to improve recruitment and retention within the early childhood workforce.
    • The Fund led to greater financial stability among recipients.
    • The HC4CC program has reduced expenditures on and improved access to health insurance.

  • Directors, educators, and community members identified ongoing challenges and needs as the Fund continues to be implemented.

    • One-on-one support to programs is important to help people engage with the Fund and understand the implications of participation.
    • Maintaining confidence and trust in the District’s government is linked to smooth implementation and sustainability of the Fund.

Suggested Citation

Harris, P., Omonuwa, K., Lloyd, C., Carlson, J., Caballero, S., Martinez, M., Ornelas Gonzalez, D., Vazzano, A., & Kissela, L. (2025). Designing and implementing the DC Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund | From Vision to Reality. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/3742h5747n

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