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.
Learn more:
Posts
Affordability is a Barrier to Child Care for Low Income Hispanic Households
The National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families recently released new findings that emphasize the issue of child care costs for low-income Hispanic families and the barriers they face …
Business Group Utilizes Innovative Federal Grant to Support Child Care in Rural Maine
Access to affordable, high-quality child care is critically important for working families; it offers parents better job stability and economic security and improves the local economy, while helping children develop …
Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Support Non-Profit Child Care Providers
Last week, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) and U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Small Business Child Care Investment Act, S.2549, bipartisan legislation that would make non-profit child care …
Updated Fact Sheets Show Opportunities for States
On Monday, the Center for American Progress (CAP) released their 2019 Early Learning Fact Sheets which provide an overview of early learning in each state. As in previous years, CAP’s …
New Data Confirms Importance of Home-Based Care for Infants and Toddlers
This week, Child Trends released new data about the different types of care settings and which are preferred by families with infants and toddlers. Using data from the National Survey …
Urban Institute Examines Possible Impact Resulting from Proposed Expansion of Child Care Supports
Today, the Pritzker Children’s Initiative hosted a webinar highlighting a new report from the Urban Institute which modeled the impact associated with a drastic increase in funding for child care …
Strengthening the Early Learning Workforce With Registered Apprenticeships
Well-qualified early childhood educators are a vital component to providing high-quality early learning and care opportunities for children from birth through age five. As policymakers have come to recognize the …
Wisconsin: Federal Support for Early Learning & Care Opportunities
High-quality early childhood education is proven to dramatically improve a child’s opportunities for a better future—particularly children from low-income families—while offering parents improved job stability and overall economic security. To …
West Virginia: Federal Support for Early Learning & Care Opportunities
High-quality early childhood education is proven to dramatically improve a child’s opportunities for a better future—particularly children from low-income families—while offering parents improved job stability and overall economic security. To …
Washington: Federal Support for Early Learning & Care Opportunities
High-quality early childhood education is proven to dramatically improve a child’s opportunities for a better future—particularly children from low-income families—while offering parents improved job stability and overall economic security. To …
