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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 child care 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 child care as about 70,000 child care […]

On April 18th, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers. The Executive Order does not immediately make any changes to child care. It is a sweeping list of directives to various federal departments to take action to improve access to care and support caregivers across the country.  We investigated what this might mean for Coloradans and child care in Colorado. While the order specifies actions for federal offices, we anticipate that many impacts will flow to the corresponding state departments through related funding streams, guidance, and reporting. Even in the absence of a specific directive, we urge Colorado state departments to consider similar actions to increase the availability and affordability of child care.   Child Care Professionals There are approximately 23,000 child care workers in Colorado who are compensated $16.03 per hour on average. Nationwide, child care providers make less than 98% of other professions, and in Colorado, 15% live below the poverty line. Below are the many directives in the Executive Order that could impact Colorado’s child care professionals and industry:  Directive supporting child care workforce Federal Department Corresponding State Department Improve child care workers’ access to health insurance (HHS) Health and Human Services (HHS) Healthcare Policy and Finance (HCPF), Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) Expand mental health support for the child care workforce (HHS) HHS Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), CDEC Expand training pathways and professional learning opportunities for child care professionals HHS, Education (ED), and Department of Labor (DOL) Higher Education (CDHE), Education (CDE), CDEC, Labor and Employment (CDLE) Publish best practices resources such as sample employment agreements for domestic child care workers, to ensure workers know their rights DOL CDLE Work with community and local partners to expand culturally and linguistically appropriate community outreach and education efforts to child care workers DOL CDLE Develop materials addressing the employment rights of non-citizen child care workers who are legally eligible to work Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Use AmeriCorps to encourage entrance into care jobs AmeriCorps Serve Colorado Create innovative funding opportunities and demonstration projects for training and provide technical assistance to governments to improve the quality of care jobs DOL, ED, HHS CDLE, CDE, CDHS, CDEC Conduct and publish an analysis of early childhood workers’ pay in comparison to the pay of other workers with similar levels of training and skill DOL CDLE, CDEC Help states and localities conduct their own analyses of comparable pay rates for care workers DOL CDLE, CDEC   Head Start Colorado is home to nearly 300 Head Start and Early Head Start programs across the state. These programs are managed locally and funded with Federal money. President Biden’s order directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify opportunities to increase compensation and benefits for Head Start staff and eliminate barriers to Head Start eligibility for families. CCCAP/TANF The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) is administered by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) and funded by Federal money that comes from the […]