Good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Lori Ann Sales, Councilmember and Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.

I want to thank everyone for joining us today for our triple committee of the Health and Human Services, Education and Culture, and Economic Development Committees.

I am so glad to have my economic development colleagues.

I believe Council Member President Natalie Fani Gonzalez will be joining us remotely today.

She is in Annapolis fighting on our behalf.

And I will just quickly introduce all of the other members.

So from the Economic Development Committee, we are joined by Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe and Councilmember Evan Glass will be joining us shortly from Education and Culture.

We have Chair Will Jawondo, Councilmember Shevra Evans, and Councilmember Kristen Mink, and from Health and Human Services, Councilmember Andrew Friedson and Councilmember Don Luke.

With nearly full council participation, we are only without council members Kate Stewart and Sydney Katz, reflecting the importance of today's topic.

The early care and education workforce is not a siloed issue.

It is foundational to our economy, our education system, and the well-being of families across Montgomery County.

So to our residents watching on County Cable Montgomery streaming on the council website and on YouTube.

Thank you for joining this conversation.

Today we will receive an update on the early care and education workforce.

We will review progress, expanding access to high quality early childhood education, and examine ongoing challenges, including workforce shortages, compensation gaps, affordability pressures, and inequities in access.

The report makes clear that despite significant county investment, the system remains under strain.

Early educators continue to face compensation below self-sufficiency levels, driving turnover, and staffing shortages.

These challenges limit provider capacity, meaning that even when physical space exists, workforce instability can prevent programs from operating at full enrollment and meeting family demand.

This is not only a local issue.

It is a statewide and national challenge.

Maryland Comptroller Brooke Learman's State of the Economy series on child care and the economy reinforces what we see locally.

Childcare is a core economic driver, and when the system is strained, families, employers, and the broader economy feel the impact.

We are also seeing innovation at the state level, including a new community-facing application from the governor's innovation office designed to help families and small businesses access services like child care and healthy food from their phones.

At the same time, early childhood education is one of the few sectors where artificial intelligence cannot replace the human role.

This work requires presence, relationship building, and care, making investment in educators even more essential.

As we look ahead, we must ensure Montgomery County's leadership and education and innovation include strong support for the workforce, preparing our youngest learners for the global economy.

Our goal today is to align policy tools across committees to strengthen the educator pipeline, stabilize providers, and expand access for families.

I want to thank uh Ms.

Nicole Rodriguez Hernandez for preparing today's packet and grounding this discussion and data and recent reports.

I want to thank our staff, providers, and partners for your work.

Before we begin, I would like to invite Chair Will Jawondo and Council President Fonnie Gonzalez, if she is here to offer any opening remarks.

Thank you so much.

Uh Chair Sales.

And as she said, this is such an important topic.

You get almost all of us, so which is nice.

Good afternoon to everyone.

Uh I I just want to say a couple things.

Um last time the triple committee met was November 7th, 2024.

Uh so uh about a year and a half ago.

Um, and I've literally been looking forward to this day for years.

I can say that.

Um, I can't tell you how many times I've said, but I want to get these studies.

I want to, and particularly this one, the workforce study.

So I am really, really excited that we in the public are going to get to talk about this.

You know, over the course of these years as we've kicked off the Early Care and Education Initiative.

We I've often asked us, and I know you'll do this today to ground us in how many students are being served, how many aren't being served, and what our goals are.

Because I think anything, any initiative like this, you've got to have the goals.

And I and I was thinking about this over the last couple of days.

We also need to know how much our workers getting paid, what are their conditions, and how we're going to make sure that they are compensated well to do this super important work.

And it's not that we care less about how many kids are in seats, we want that, but we care equally as much about the providers themselves, what how they are able to work in a job that pays a life-sustaining wage, and have child care for their own children if they have them.

And many of us, I know I was at uh Kenya's Family Child Care Center, a very local uh home-based child care center just last week for the read uh read-along day.

And we all know how much people who are in this work care so deeply about the children and families that they're working with, but it is a national disgrace, frankly, how low they're paid and uh the challenges that they face.

So I'm really excited that we're going to dig into that, confront it head on, and um and also set a goal for how we move and professionalize and move that workforce up with us along at the same time.

So I know it's complex, but I'm excited that we have everyone here, and I thank you all for each of your role in this work and look forward to digging into it.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair and Ms.

Nicole Hernandez, Rodriguez Hernandez, please uh get started with your presentation.

Thank you.