Help us set subsidy rates by taking the Market Rate Survey

The Department of Early Learning needs your help to better serve the needs of licensed child care providers. We have just launched this year’s leaner, simplified Market Rate Survey. The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete and is open to all licensed providers in Washington state. DEL is required by the federal government to conduct this Market Rate Survey. The results from the survey will be used to inform child care subsidy rates. You can help by taking the survey if you are a licensed provider, and if not, you can help promote it!

DEL has conducted Washington State’s Market Rate Survey since 2007, as the lead agency for the Child Care Development Fund. The survey asks questions about licensed providers' child care and the children they serve. Topics covered include enrollment, private tuition rates, staff education and compensation, and support services offered. The survey includes several important updates this year:

• DEL is partnering with Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) to deploy the survey.
• Shorter and more concise format than previous years.
• Web-based format with email, telephone, and postcard contacts planned.
• Translations available for providers who speak Spanish and Somali.
• Telephone interpreters available for additional languages.

To inform subsidy rates, your participation is very important! To reach our response rate goal of 75 percent for licensed centers and licensed family homes, we need your help. DEL would appreciate if you could take the survey, help promote it to other child care providers, or both! Providers can check their email for a link to the survey, subject line “Market Rate Survey.” Or, providers can access the survey at this link: http://surveys.pcgus.com/s3/WADELMRS.

The survey will close April 20 or after we receive our response rate goal, whichever comes first. You can also contact PCG at wamarketratesurvey@pcgus.com or (844) 880-8714 with any questions. Thank you!