Childcare is keeping Texans out of the workforce
Source: https://www.kxan.com/video/business-leaders-say-child-care-crisis-is-holding-back-texas-workforce/12067164/
For Texas employers, childcare is no longer simply a family issue. It is a workforce issue.
In a recent interview with KXAN, Kelsey Erickson Streufert, Chief Public Officer of the Texas Restaurant Association Employers for Childcare Taskforce discussed the challenges. This includes workers finding and affording childcare and how it affects employers across Texas.
Industries include restaurants, health care, public safety, and more. Texas continues to grow, but employers are struggling to find and retain enough workers to meet that growth. Streufert pointed to a significant barrier: “About 60% of non-working parents say childcare is a top reason they’re not in the workforce.”
And the impact goes beyond parents who are not working. Some parents who are employed may not be able to work the hours they want, take on additional responsibilities, or move into management because they cannot find childcare that meets their needs.
For employers, that can mean:
- Fewer people available to fill open positions
- Difficulty retaining employees
- Employees unable to work the hours their jobs require
- Challenges developing and promoting workers into management
- A smaller workforce available to support Texas’ continued growth
Families are facing three challenges at once
There is no single childcare problem. Families must navigate availability, accessibility and affordability at the same time. Finding care can be especially difficult for employees who work evenings, weekends or other nontraditional schedules. Then there is the cost. Unlike college, childcare is an expense families have little time to prepare for.
“We know infant care in Austin, for example, costs more than in-state college tuition.”
Texas’ child care system is complex
Another challenge is how early childhood programs and funding are managed at the state level. Streufert discussed the work of Texas 2036, the Texas Association of Business, Early Matters and other partners examining ways to create a more coordinated and effective system. “You can’t run an efficient, high-outcome system split between six agencies and all the school boards and all the different players involved.”
For Texas families, employers and child care providers, a more coordinated system could make it easier to understand available resources and put them to work effectively. Streufert emphasized three needs:
- Clear data to understand what is working
- Clear accountability for how resources are used
- Clear goals focused on working families and Texas’ workforce needs
Work is underway to improve the system
Several efforts are examining how Texas can make its early childhood system more efficient.
The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is reviewing state agencies and identifying opportunities for reform and greater efficiency.
The Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Education and Care is examining a system that is currently divided among multiple agencies and programs and looking for opportunities to better coordinate the work.
The Texas Early Learning Council’s Quad Agency Coordination brings state agencies together to identify conflicting or duplicative regulations and ways to make the system easier for child care providers to navigate.
The goal is not simply to change government processes. Greater coordination could help providers serve more families, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens and make it easier for communities and employers to participate in solutions.
Employers want to be part of the solution
One of the most encouraging messages from the interview is that employers are interested in helping.
“We talk to employers all the time. They’re saying, ‘We want to expand our employee benefits. We want to create new childcare programs, but we don’t know how to do that in the system that we have today.’” –Kelsey Erickson Streufert, Chief Public Officer of the Texas Restaurant Association
That is why building a more coordinated early childhood system matters. When state agencies, child care providers, employers, nonprofits and local communities can work within a system that is easier to understand and navigate, more partners can become part of the solution. For Early Matters San Antonio, this conversation reinforces an important message: strengthening early childhood strengthens families, employers and our entire community.
See the full interview from KXAN below: