{"id":20239,"date":"2026-02-25T22:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/?p=20239"},"modified":"2026-06-02T11:11:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:11:38","slug":"nonprofit-combats-early-childhood-workforce-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/nonprofit-combats-early-childhood-workforce-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit Combats Early Childhood Workforce Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally published by Aloha State Daily – Check out the full article here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honolulu-based nonprofit Partners in Development Foundation<\/a> has been intentional about stabilizing its early childhood workforce over time, according to COO Terry Nakamura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told Aloha State Daily that despite ongoing challenges, the organization has been \u201ctrying to increase the salary for entry-level positions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIncrementally, we raised their pay from $15 to $16 and then to $17,\u201d Nakamura explained. \u201cSo, it was a deliberate attempt to make it affordable for folks. And it does make a difference, it helps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI feel seen. Being\u00a0in\u00a0this field we never enter for the pay, we enter to make a difference, so living paycheck to paycheck is just a part of my life, but to have the extra help is such a blessing.”
– Testimony from Staff<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So has offering stipends to workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With early childhood educators in mind, PIDF dispersed a grant, then called Early Childhood Workforce Stabilization and Compensation Assistance Award (ECWSCA), to employees in May of 2025 from Hawai\u02bbi P-20 Partnership for Education<\/a>, which includes the Executive Office on Early Learning, the state Department of Education and the University of Hawai\u02bbi System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total amount awarded was $176,250 to 85 early childhood education staff via one-time stipends. The 56 full-time staff received $2,500 and the 29 part-time staff received $1,250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese stipends have been a huge benefit. For both the first and second rounds of this, it was a surprise. I was the one that primarily submitted our application, and we did it per program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of PIDF\u2019s 10 free community programs offered statewide, three are dedicated to early childhood education: Ka Pa\u2019alana Homeless Family Education, N\u0101 Pono No N\u0101 \u02bbOhana and T\u016bt\u016b and Me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, the organization was awarded a total of $153,750, which was used for stipends distributed to 62 early childhood education staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read the full article written Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published by Aloha State Daily – Check out the full article here Honolulu-based nonprofit Partners in Development Foundation has been intentional about stabilizing its early childhood workforce over time, according to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":20241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[583,222],"class_list":["post-20239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-education","tag-pidf"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20242,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20239\/revisions\/20242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}