Childcare Landscape Study - Flipbook - Page 18
Davidson County Child Care Landscape Study Results
•
5
Full-Day Actual Capacity: The sum of all occupied slots and open slots within a
child care program. This number represents the total number of full-day equivalent
child care slots a child care program could accommodate today, given its current
staffing levels, resources, program design, and other practical limitations. As such,
this number is typically lower than a program’s licensed capacity.
Child Care Workforce
We refer to three different early childhood educator roles throughout the Davidson County
Child Care Landscape Study.
•
•
•
Lead Educator: The primary instructional leader and care provider for a classroom
or group of children. A classroom can have two lead educators (i.e., co-leads).
Assistant Educator: The educator or staff member who supports the lead educator
in teaching and caring for young children.
Rotating Assistant Educator: The flexible educator who moves between
classrooms, providing support wherever needed throughout the day. This role is also
frequently referred to as a floater.
Other Key Terms
For references, the following key terms are used for the Davidson County Child Care
Landscape Study:
•
•
Cost Estimation Model: A child care cost estimation framework that generates an
estimate of the total cost needed to sustain a high-quality child care program with a
stable workforce. The framework accounts for all of the expenses involved in
delivering high-quality child care, including labor costs that reflect a living wage
and fair benefits, facility expenses, and learning materials.
ALICE Household Survival Budget: ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited,
Income Constrained, Employed, and represents households with income above the
Federal Poverty Level (FPL), but below the basic cost of living. The ALICE
Household Survival Budget reflects the minimum wage needed to cover the cost of
household necessities (housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and
technology), plus taxes, and is adjusted for all US counties.
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 2025
www.pn3policy.org
