The Business Case – Why Does Child Care Matter
Today, one of the top challenges facing employers is how to recruit and retain workers. For parents, particularly mothers of young children, access to child care determines the level of participation in the workforce. Many parents work reduced hours or opt out of the workforce entirely due to limited child care access and affordability. Nearly 70% or approximately 14.6 million children under age six have working parents (either both parents in a married couple or the single head of household). The need for child care is widespread among working adults, leading many business leaders and employers to adopt strategies that help expand access.
While child care is an important work support, business leaders also recognize the importance of quality early learning settings to support the healthy development and school readiness of children as well as the wellbeing of the nation. Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman found a 13 percent annual return on investment for every dollar spent on high-quality, birth-to-five programs for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Access to quality child care is an investment in the current and future workforce, as well as a public good.
Employer Early Learning and Child Care Supports for Employees
Many employers are not aware of the options they have to help support employees related to their childcare needs. CED has developed customized state online Employer Child Care Toolkits to help employers better understand the many ways in which they can support child care access and affordability.
Employer child care toolkits have been developed for several states including Idaho, Maryland, South Dakota, and Utah. The toolkit can be used by employers to review options, survey employees, and develop ways to better support the child care needs of employees (and sometimes other parents in the community).
Innovative Child Care Approaches and Business Engagement Spotlights
Utah Partnership
In Utah, the Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce identified access to child care as a leading challenge for employers throughout the area. There was a particular concern about nontraditional hours since many employers in the community are manufacturing companies with shift work. The local chamber partnered with the Cache County Office for Economic Development to send a child care survey to employers in August 2022. 80% of employers said child care was a challenge for their employees; 53% said they had employees quit or take extended leave to care for their children. The Cache Valley Chamber partnered with JBS, a meat processing company, and the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Utah to open 3 new child care centers in August and September of 2024. Read more here.
Child Care Affordability
The price of child care is high. Cost varies by state, age of the child, and setting. Families with one child struggle to afford it. Families with two or more children can be priced out of the market.
The federal government allocates child care funding to states annually. Under federal rules, working families with income up to 85% of the state median are eligible for a child care subsidy to help make child care more affordable. Some states have chosen to offer subsidies to working families above this income level by supplementing with state funding. However, most states set eligibility levels much lower than 85% of state median income.
CED has developed online child care affordability calculators based on state data to help educate state policymakers about the basic household expenses families face, which makes accessing the licensed child care market difficult. The tool provides a general snapshot for an average family and may not account for unique factors related to individual families that may determine actual eligibility for subsidy.
Employers can use the calculators to better understand the challenges their employees face in affording child care. This may be helpful related to consideration of employee benefits and to engage with state policymakers to better support child care access for families.
Calculators have been developed for several states including for Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin.
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Wisconsin: A calculator was developed for the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA). The calculator enables users to select their county (to determine county median income) and then to select the type of housing payments -- rent or mortgage, which then displays average housing costs for the county selected.
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Delaware: Two calculators were developed for Rodel in Delaware. One calculator shows family expenses based on county income. The other calculator shows family expenses based on either one or two occupations for parents in the household. (Users choose the occupation).
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The Business Case – Why Does Child Care Matter
Today, one of the top challenges facing employers is how to recruit and retain workers. For parents, particularly mothers of young children, access to child care determines the level of participation in the workforce. Many parents work reduced hours or opt out of the workforce entirely due to limited child care access and affordability. Nearly 70% or approximately 14.6 million children under age six have working parents (either both parents in a married couple or the single head of household). The need for child care is widespread among working adults, leading many business leaders and employers to adopt strategies that help expand access.
While child care is an important work support, business leaders also recognize the importance of quality early learning settings to support the healthy development and school readiness of children as well as the wellbeing of the nation. Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman found a 13 percent annual return on investment for every dollar spent on high-quality, birth-to-five programs for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Access to quality child care is an investment in the current and future workforce, as well as a public good.
Employer Early Learning and Child Care Supports for Employees
Many employers are not aware of the options they have to help support employees related to their childcare needs. CED has developed customized state online Employer Child Care Toolkits to help employers better understand the many ways in which they can support child care access and affordability.
Employer child care toolkits have been developed for several states including Idaho, Maryland, South Dakota, and Utah. The toolkit can be used by employers to review options, survey employees, and develop ways to better support the child care needs of employees (and sometimes other parents in the community).
Innovative Child Care Approaches and Business Engagement Spotlights
Utah Partnership
In Utah, the Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce identified access to child care as a leading challenge for employers throughout the area. There was a particular concern about nontraditional hours since many employers in the community are manufacturing companies with shift work. The local chamber partnered with the Cache County Office for Economic Development to send a child care survey to employers in August 2022. 80% of employers said child care was a challenge for their employees; 53% said they had employees quit or take extended leave to care for their children. The Cache Valley Chamber partnered with JBS, a meat processing company, and the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Utah to open 3 new child care centers in August and September of 2024. Read more here.
Child Care Affordability
The price of child care is high. Cost varies by state, age of the child, and setting. Families with one child struggle to afford it. Families with two or more children can be priced out of the market.
The federal government allocates child care funding to states annually. Under federal rules, working families with income up to 85% of the state median are eligible for a child care subsidy to help make child care more affordable. Some states have chosen to offer subsidies to working families above this income level by supplementing with state funding. However, most states set eligibility levels much lower than 85% of state median income.
CED has developed online child care affordability calculators based on state data to help educate state policymakers about the basic household expenses families face, which makes accessing the licensed child care market difficult. The tool provides a general snapshot for an average family and may not account for unique factors related to individual families that may determine actual eligibility for subsidy.
Employers can use the calculators to better understand the challenges their employees face in affording child care. This may be helpful related to consideration of employee benefits and to engage with state policymakers to better support child care access for families.
Calculators have been developed for several states including for Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin.
|
Wisconsin: A calculator was developed for the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA). The calculator enables users to select their county (to determine county median income) and then to select the type of housing payments -- rent or mortgage, which then displays average housing costs for the county selected.
|
|
|
Delaware: Two calculators were developed for Rodel in Delaware. One calculator shows family expenses based on county income. The other calculator shows family expenses based on either one or two occupations for parents in the household. (Users choose the occupation).
|
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