Washington, DC's PEF sustained a positive social return on investment of 21 percent in FY 2024, similar to 23 percent in FY 2023¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr?·q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-08 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2029: local conditions change quickly
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
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This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? In FY 2024 the PEF's estimated social return on investment was 21 percent, similar to the 23 percent estimated return in FY 2023, with benefits exceeding costs by $16 million. → Owen Schochet 2026
Evidence¶
Owen Schochet 2026¶
Owen Schochet, Katie Gonzalez. (2026). Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund (PEF): Do Economic Returns Change Over Time?. Mathematica. none in text. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/early-childhood-educator-pef-do-economic-returns-change-over-time
q2 · i? · associational · r?
Benefit-cost analysis of the PEF in its third year, comparing FY 2024 benefits and costs after the transition to a facility payment model. The brief reports that "FY 2024 benefits exceed costs by $16 million" with an estimated social ROI of 21 percent versus 23 percent in FY 2023.
"Overall, FY 2024 benefits exceed costs by $16 million, and the estimated social return on investment (ROI) is 21 percent, similar to the estimated return of 23 percent in FY 2023."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- A benefit-cost analysis of DC's Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund finds the initiative to address educator pay gaps has economic value — a broader claim this one bears on
- Program costs rose under the PEF's facility payment model, but the size and economic value of benefits also increased — related
- The PEF's total FY 2024 economic value of benefits was $93 million, up from $67 million in FY 2023, with benefits to families the largest share — related
- The PEF's total FY 2024 cost was $76 million, up from $54 million in FY 2023, reflecting larger educator payments and new facility administrative costs — related
- PROMISE service costs represented relatively large investments — related
- The cost analysis suggests the ERWC is a modest investment whose upfront development and training costs become insignificant over time — related
- Early education investments generate $2 to $17 in returns for every dollar invested, with greater returns as children are followed further in life — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
pef-fy2024-roi-21-percent-similar-to-fy2023 |
title |
Washington, DC's PEF sustained a positive social return on investment of 21 percent in FY 2024, similar to 23 percent in FY 2023 |
description |
Washington, DC's PEF sustained a positive social return on investment of 21 percent in FY 2024, similar to 23 percent in FY 2023 |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2026 |
source_checked |
2026-10-08 |
recheck_by |
2029 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-08 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — owen-schochet-2026 |
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