As part of his 2025-2026 proposed budget, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is calling for a $55 million investment to provide childcare workers with at least $1,000 in recruitment and retention bonuses to help strengthen the workforce.
“My budget prioritizes workforce development to tackle shortages in critical sectors like child care,” Shapiro said Feb. 18 during a roundtable he and Lt. Governor Austin Davis hosted at the YMCA Child Development Center at Duquesne University.
“With 3,000 unfilled child care jobs across Pennsylvania, too many families are struggling to find safe, affordable care — forcing parents out of the workforce and making it harder to get ahead,” added the governor.
Shapiro, Davis, Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis, and key stakeholders, including YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh President Amy Kienle, Partner4Work CEO Robert Cherry, childcare workers, teachers, and parents participated in the roundtable. Leadership from the Greater Pittsburgh YMCA, Duquesne University, the Early Learning Investment Commission, and the General Assembly also attended.
The discussion focused on Shapiro’s proposed budget investments to address workforce challenges, reduce costs, and increase access to quality child care. The 2025-2026 budget proposal builds on his first two budgets with a $55 million investment in workforce recruitment and retention grants, which would provide an additional $1,000 annually per employee working in licensed child care centers in the Child Care Works Program.
“The childcare workforce shortage isn’t just a challenge for families — it’s a major economic issue, costing billions in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue,” said Lt. Gov. Davis. “Our proposed budget invests in solutions, including $1,000 bonuses to recruit and retain child care workers across the commonwealth. These dedicated professionals care for our most valuable resource — our children. They work hard and they deserve this investment.”
Holmes Davis pointed out that she and her husband have seen firsthand how important quality child care is. “Our daughter, Harper, is lucky to attend a wonderful facility that gives her a safe, supportive place to learn and grow,” she said. “Every parent in Pennsylvania should have that same peace of mind, and every child should have the opportunity to thrive in a nurturing environment. That’s why investing in our childcare workforce is so critical.”
Pennsylvania’s childcare system serves more than 300,000 children annually statewide, however, providers are struggling to hire and retain staff, leading to reduced capacity and long waitlists for families in need of care.
Childcare centers report increased difficulty in filling positions due to low wages, and many are forced to close classrooms or limit enrollment. Without a competitive wage, it remains difficult to attract and retain qualified early childcare educators, the panelists said.
“The YMCA is the largest provider of child care in Allegheny County, in Pennsylvania, and across the country,” said Kienle. “We have a real stake in the childcare discussion, and the governor’s budget proposal includes exciting, historic provisions — raising the minimum wage, investing in recruitment and retention of childcare workers, and increasing funding for Pre-K Counts.”
A lack of access to affordable, quality child care can lead many parents to leave the workforce. According to the Pennsylvania Chamber, the state’s economy loses nearly $3.5 billion a year due to a lack of childcare options, and more than a third of Pennsylvania parents report that childcare problems have impacted their employment.
Across the state, there are 3,000 unfilled childcare positions leaving 25,000 children without access to care.
“We’re having a lot of conversations with employers right now because we understand that supporting child care requires a three-legged stool: the consumer, the employer, and, to some degree, government and other entities helping to fund these efforts,” Cherry said. “The investments included in the governor’s budget proposal are essential to strengthening and growing our childcare sector.”
Specifically, the 2025-2026 proposed budget investments in childcare workforce and other services also include $15 million additional funding for the Pre-K Counts program to help providers raise wages and stabilize the early educator workforce, and $10 million to increase early intervention provider rates to ensure children have access to needed support and resources.
Also in the proposed budget, the governor addresses workforce shortages in other critical industries like education and health care — sectors that are vital to the state’s economic growth, according to his staff, which said that since Shapiro took office, more than 170,000 Pennsylvanians have entered the workforce, and unemployment remains near historic lows.