Quality child care helps more than just families and children. It supports the local economy, making child care a good investment. Payments to child care providers and centers feed the economy because workers and their employees immediately turn around and use their income to pay mortgages, buy food and support other local services. Child care programs are small businesses and in 2011 nearly 1 million children under the age of 6 in New York State were in need of child care.
According to James Heckman, Nobel Laureate and Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, the interdependence between the economy and quality early care and education (including child care) is critically important and widely undervalued According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; early childhood education has a tremendous impact on the national economic security and viability of the American dream.
Nationwide Statistics
• 68 million women are in the workforce-half of all US workers - while 54% work full time (
www.whispy.com/working_women_in_the_workplace.htm)
• 72% of absenteeism is due to child care related issues. (US. Dept. of Labor)
• 24% of working women report they had to cut back their work schedule at least one day out of seven to meet care giving obligations.( Heymann, S. J., The Widening Gap: Why American Working Families are in Jeopardy and What Can Be Done About It, 2000)
• U.S companies lose $3 billion annually as a consequence of child care-related absences
(
http://www.winningbeginningny.org/documents/whyshouldemployerscare_eclc_paper.pdf)
Businesses report that there is less absenteeism and less turnover when quality early childhood programs are available.
We know that the first five years are critical in a child’s life with approximately 85 % of the brain development occurring during this time period. When subsidized child care is not available, working parents often have to leave their child in unsafe or inconsistent arrangements which hamper a child’s grow and development. With concern over school readiness, we must make early care and education a priority. We can not waste these early formative years.
Why invest in early care and education? Investing in early care and education stimulates the economy, keep families working and helps develop the workforce of the future.
Betty Bellino
Program Associate
Workforce Development Institute
