Economy & Business
Child care is an integral pillar to supporting a thriving economy, with 27 million Americans relying on it to work. The national shortage of affordable child care programs is doing significant harm to family finances, businesses’ bottom lines, and the U.S. economy broadly.
Here are five things to know about child care and our economy.
- The United States economy loses an estimated $122 billion a year due to child care challenges.
- On average, businesses lose $1,640 a year for each working parent due to lost revenue and hiring costs because of insufficient child care, totaling $23 billion annually.
- 77% of small business leaders say access to high-quality, affordable child care is essential or important to strengthening the economy and helping workers.
- Investments in high-quality child care and early learning programs can generate up to $7.30 per every dollar invested.
- The availability of early childhood education programs attracts homebuyers and increases property values by $13 for every dollar invested in programs.
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Posts
Child Care Aware of America Shares Summer Update on How States are Spending Federal Relief Funds
Recently, Child Care Aware of America released “Federal Relief Funds: State Progress, Summer 2021,” an update on how states plan to use Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act …
Vice President Kamala Harris Meets with Business Leaders on Building Back Better with Child Care
On Thursday afternoon, Vice President Harris met with business leaders from a variety of industries to discuss the need for long-term investments in early learning and care. This conversation is …
Moody’s Report: “Especially Strong Employment Effects” from Federal Support for Child Care
A new report from Moody’s Analytics — the renowned global financial firm, which provides economic research regarding risk, performance and financial modeling — examined the elements of President Biden’s Build …
New Report from OECD: Supporting Meaningful Interactions in Early Childhood Education and Care
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently released its sixth Starting Strong report, which includes data from 26 countries and jurisdictions throughout the world. The report focused on …
2021 State Fact Sheets: Examining the Impact and Unmet Need of Federal & State ECE Funding
FFYF has released the latest iteration of its annual state fact sheets, which draw on numerous data sources to offer details about the early childhood opportunities in each state made …
Primetime Coverage of America’s Child Care Dilemma from PBS NewsHour
Last week, in partnership with the Pritzker Children’s Initiative and the Stein Early Childhood Development Fund, PBS NewsHour aired a week-long the series, “Raising the Future: America’s child care dilemma,” …
New Data Reveals Lasting, Intergenerational Benefits of Early Learning Programs in Children 50 Years Later
A research team from the University of Chicago, which includes Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman, released the results of new analysis from an ongoing study of the Perry Preschool …
President Biden Highlights Opportunity to “Build Back Better” Through Investments in Early Learning and Care
Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden traveled to Crystal Lake, Illinois, where he visited McHenry County College to highlight his administration’s “Build Back Better” plan, including his proposal for a significant, …
Our Child Care System Is Not Meeting The Needs Of Families, Providers, or The Economy
Now is the time to build a system of early care and education that works. Finding and affording quality child care and early learning options shouldn’t be the reason parents …
As America Recovers from the Pandemic, Data Shows Child Care Remains a Major Challenge for Working Parents
The results of a new Care.com survey reveal that finding and affording quality child care remains a major hurdle for working parents, and the pandemic only made things worse. Key …
FFYF’S Sarah Rittling Joins ‘Engage for Women’ Co-Founder to Discuss Opportunities for Progress on Child Care & Early Learning
This week, FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling joined Engage for Women, a bipartisan organization that seeks to promote women’s economic security, to discuss the opportunity to build a child care …
