More than 50 local chambers of commerce and economic development agencies statewide recently sent a letter to state lawmakers urging them to address the child care crisis.
Gaps in Pennsylvania’s child care system result in an estimated annual economic cost of $2.4 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and tax revenue, according to a ReadyNation report. ReadyNation, a nonprofit organization, surveyed more than 300 working mothers in Pennsylvania.
The vast majority of child care falls on mothers, the report found, resulting in career barriers, financial burdens, and work disruptions. The percentage of earnings spent on child care is greater for working mothers.
When both working mothers and fathers shoulder the burden, the estimated annual economic cost is $6.65 billion.
A shortage of child care teachers has caused wait-list times to lengthen and have closed programs.
The chambers explained that increasing the availability of child care would alleviate the child care work force shortage, and would keep classrooms open or allow them to reopen. To accomplish this, the chambers call for state investment to help child care providers recruit and retain teachers.
At least 18 states have directly invested in recruitment and retention strategies to solve their child care teacher shortages.