Child Care Is a Workforce Issue — and a Workforce Solution
When employers talk about workforce challenges, conversations often focus on recruitment, retention, and absenteeism. Increasingly, another factor is impossible to ignore: access to affordable, reliable child care.A recent article from Shift Work Forward highlights a reality facing communities across the country: the child care sector is in crisis. For many families, care is unaffordable or difficult to find, while providers themselves often face low compensation and limited career pathways. These challenges create ripple effects throughout the broader economy, impacting businesses, workers, and job seekers alike.
“Employees with young children are juggling many priorities and working hard to ensure everyone gets what they need, both at work and at home.”
Local organizations have stepped up to address these pressing challenges in a variety of ways:
Our partners at Thrive By 5 Louisville are focused on strengthening the early childhood workforce, investing in early learning centers, and helping more families afford care. Recently, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced that Shift Work Forward is investing $360,000 in Thrive by 5 to fund business and management coaching for operators of early childhood education centers.
Another nonprofit resource, Child Care Aware Kentucky supports families seeking quality child care, as well as employers, job seekers, and child care providers themselves through practical tools and coaching opportunities. For employees and job seekers, the organization provides resources to help families locate child care options, navigate support programs, and reduce one of the most common barriers to workforce participation.
Child Care Aware recently released an employer toolkit designed to help businesses better understand how child care affects recruitment, retention, and employee wellbeing. The toolkit offers strategies employers can use to support working parents and strengthen workforce stability.
“If you are a business interested in learning more about quality child care in Kentucky and ways to support employees with young children, staff at Child Care Aware of Kentucky are ready to provide technical assistance,” says Kate Dean, Director of Community-Based Partnerships & Strategy at Child Care Aware. “We offer ready-made resources, can provide coaching, assist with individualized needs assessments, host lunch-and-learns and more.”
Employers can connect with Kate and Child Care Aware at Kate.Dean@uky.edu.
Learn more about Thrive By 5 Louisville: thriveby5louisville.org
