Accessible child care as a means to a strong economy

by Emily Dowsett, Senior Communications Strategist, Gambel Communications

Prior to the pandemic, Louisiana already had an issue with a serious lack of access to affordable, high-quality early care and education programs for children of working families across the state, and as it did with so many other things, COVID-19 only fanned the flames. We’re not alone in that; many other states are experiencing this struggle to varying degrees, but for today’s purposes, we’ll keep the conversation to Louisiana.

Our child care sector — which already operated on razor-thin financial margins before 2020 — is now in an even more precarious state than it was before and arguably, on the brink of collapse. With mandatory decreased classroom sizes, and increased costs of necessary personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, many child care providers across the state have struggled to keep their lights on and their doors open over the past year, while others have been forced to close permanently.

According to research from the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, our state’s child care sector has lost an estimated $245 million amid the ongoing pandemic, and tragically, the actual number is likely higher as that estimate may not fully capture losses experienced by those providers who were forced to permanently shutter their operations. This impacts all of us. Even before COVID-19, studies showed that Louisiana’s economy lost an astounding $1.1 billion a year due to child care breakdowns, and businesses lost over $800 million a year. By making child care more accessible, it means we can prevent these massive losses in the future, and it means a strong economy — but we need to act and make investments in these systems now.

Unfortunately, Louisiana ranked last out of all 50 states for family well-being during the pandemic, with 50 percent struggling to pay bills and 25 percent not having enough to eat. Working parents throughout Louisiana are facing impossible choices on a daily basis. Their reality is having to forgo meals or being forced to borrow money when trying to afford quality care for their children. The care on which families rely can cost almost as much as college tuition and is the largest budget expense for most families with young children in our state. Our working families shouldn’t have to choose between dinner or child care.

You may ask: But what about the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)? Well, even before the pandemic’s onset, Louisiana was only serving 15 percent of children age birth to three who are eligible for CCAP. The result? Quality, affordable child care is simply out of reach for a majority of our state’s working families.

Those high-quality early experiences that I’m talking about (the ones I mentioned are out of reach for a majority of families across Louisiana) are absolutely critical to our children and the future of our state. We know that children’s brains develop 90 percent before age five, and it’s quality experiences during those most critical developmental years that set our children up for success in school and ultimately in life. Successful children = a successful future for Louisiana.

There is also a perception which I must address — that the early care and education sector has plenty of money from federal stimulus packages. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of those one-time federal funds are being used to stabilize the industry, and as a result, there isn’t money left to go towards increasing access for our low-income, working families. So, while some federal money can be used to increase access to early care and education for families who need it, it is still one-time money. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. These funds do not help to increase access for our younger children in the long term.

Investing in early care and education matters. By expanding access to these high-quality early childhood experiences, more parents are able to go to work or school with confidence that their children are in a safe learning environment, our businesses are afforded a more reliable workforce who are unburdened by child care problems, and on top of this, it ensures our young children will be able to enter kindergarten ready to succeed, ultimately reducing the likelihood the state will have to pay for remedial education down the road.

Our families, our businesses and our economic recovery all depend on child care. Every single step we take to increase access will make a difference to families, businesses and the overall economy. For parents to get back to work, the first step is for them to be able to access quality care.