Your Guide to Supporting Families in the Workforce

This report looks deeper at Pennsylvania's child care and pre-k system complexities and recommends the improvements necessary to ensure the system functions equitably and increases access and affordability for all families in the commonwealth.

The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley and Child Care Aware® of America teamed up to create a new video that explains why parents cannot afford to pay and educators cannot afford to stay and proposes a solution for a better way to support children, their families, and early educators.

A 2021 survey found child care breakdowns cost PA employers heavily—54% lost workers and 38% saw high child care need. Most had no system to gauge needs and were unaware of available resources, though many want better ways to support working families.

Small businesses can make a big difference simply by understanding what resources exist for their working families with young children and making that information readily available.

This free PA Economic Impact Calculator helps businesses estimate financial losses tied to employees' lack of reliable child care. Replace pre-loaded state averages with your own data to see how child care gaps affect absenteeism, productivity, hiring, and retention.

Pennsylvania's child care crisis now carries a $6.65B yearly price tag, driven by parent absences, employer productivity loss, and long-term impacts on children. High costs, limited access, and quality shortages leave families struggling and employers unable to rely on a stable workforce.