DC Event Brings Business Leaders Working for Child Care Solutions Together
During the week of July 17, Moms First hosted the National Business Coalition for Child Care Corporate Champions event with US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, in Washington DC. EPIC’s President & CEO, Nicole Riehl, was invited to participate as an innovator and expert in how businesses can support child care efforts. Nicole joined business leaders from a range of industries to discuss and celebrate efforts to expand child care solutions for American workers.
Child care is an economic issue. It’s clear that lack of access to quality, affordable child care is keeping people out of the talent pipeline and eroding America’s ability to compete in the global economy. Millions of jobs are open because we are missing so many women and workers from the workforce.
Leaders at this special event demonstrated and discussed how businesses are taking steps alongside philanthropy and government to improve access to quality, affordable child care and paid leave for working families. Nicole came back impressed with the innovation, partnership, and change that is coming, and proud to share the wins we’re accomplishing in Colorado.
Moms First highlighted recent data showing that there are more women on payrolls than ever before. They’re able to return to work because of flexible work schedules, and the right kind of child care for their families. But many women don’t have all the support they need for their families — and their careers — to truly thrive. Child care can cost families up to 19% of their income, and that’s not a sustainable solution to keep these parents in the talent pool.
What is sustainable are the solutions businesses are developing and implementing that support working parents. EPIC friend and partner, Steamboat Resort, was at the event, sharing their leadership and experience implementing the Steamboat Child Care Center with the help of the EPIC Employer-Based Child Care Design Lab.
At the event, Boston Consulting Group shared their report, Solving the $290 Billion Care Crisis. This report forecasts that the United States is going to lose $290 billion per year in GDP in 2030 onwards if we fail to find solutions in two areas:
- The lack of available workers to fill care roles.
- The departure of productive employees to take on unpaid caregiving duties.
BCG notes that this loss is equivalent to losing half the annual GDP growth we’ve experienced over the last year. Other industries compete for these care workers, like hospitality and retail. And they’re winning. As of July 2022, pandemic-related job losses in childcare persisted, short 8% of pre-pandemic levels, even where other sectors had largely recovered. In addition, about one third of US child care centers closed or reduced capacity because of a lack of staff.
On top of the already-dire situation is the coming child care cliff: On September 30, federal stabilization funds will expire. According to the Century Foundation, this means that approximately 3.2 million children could lose their spots in childcare as about 70,000 childcare programs close. With those closures, millions of parents will likely either leave the workforce or reduce hours, costing families an estimated $9 billion each year in lost earnings. An already struggling industry could lose an additional 232,000 jobs.
Yet at EPIC, we see businesses stepping up to the plate to help solve these compounding crises. It’s not all doom and gloom. At the Child Care Corporate Champions event, we heard from 25 businesses working to provide employees with the flexibility and solutions necessary to support not only the next generations of workforce, but the current workers driving our economy right now.
We can help businesses large and small help their workers by implementing creative child care solutions. Across Colorado, businesses are finding ways to help through the development of on- or near-site child care programs and other creative family benefits that aim to offer both access, flexibility, and affordability for their employees, while building critical child care supply in their region. EPIC works independently with a range of employers across the state and our Employer-Based Child Care Design Lab is a unique opportunity for employers to gain the knowledge necessary to plan an on-site or near-site child care facility through direct support and community partnerships while developing a competitive grant application for up to $800,000 in state funding for their projects.
Thanks to the incredible team at Moms First for their leadership on this issue and for hosting such an informative and uplifting event!