"NOW Proposes Homemakers Bill of Rights for Day Care So Moms Can Work" - 1979
"Child Care Is An Industry On The Brink" - 1981
"Child Care Crisis Grows For Stressed-out Working Mothers" - 1989
"Child Care Bill Is Sacrificed Leaving Mom Scratching Her Head" - 1989
"Child Care Costs Hit Poor Families Harder, Census Says" - 1995
"Year of High Hopes for Child Care Comes and Goes" - 1998
"Child-Care Cost Increases Outpace the Inflation Rate" - 2002
"High-Quality Childcare Is Simply Out of Reach for Blue Collar Moms" - 2009
"Moms Stay at Home in Increasing Numbers, Report Finds" - 2014
"Lack of Child Care Options Put A Generation of Black Americans At Risk" - 2017
"I Wanted to Be An Engineer And a Mother, My Salary Made Me Choose" - 2020
"Childcare Costs Jeopardize Ability To Buy A New Home for Many" - 2022
These headlines tell us two things: the issues caused by lack of access to affordable, quality child care is not new, and it disproportionately affects women and people of color in their ability to find sustainable employment. In recent years, the rising costs and limited availability of child care have become major obstacles to economic stability and career growth for many American families. This barrier has been exacerbated by the pandemic, which exposed and intensified childcare shortages, increasing the burden on working mothers. This crisis has far-reaching consequences for the U.S. economy and the advancement of gender equality in the workplace.
The Current Child Care Landscape
Access to affordable, quality child care is increasingly out of reach for many families. According to a recent report from Birth to Five, over 70% of children in working families are without an available childcare slot across Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Mason, and Logan counties. Much of our region is considered a "child care desert", where demand for child care far outpaces supply. Even in areas with more options, the high costs often make child care unattainable. With annual childcare expenses for infants sometimes exceeding college tuition in many states, the financial strain forces many families - particularly women - to consider reducing their hours or leaving the workforce entirely.
The impact is most acutely felt by low-income families, rural communities, and women of color. Many parents in these demographics face fewer childcare options, limited flexibility at work, and greater economic insecurity. When childcare challenges arise, the responsibility often falls disproportionately on mothers, which can limit their career opportunities and lifetime earning potential.
Economic Impacts of Limited Childcare
The childcare crisis has significant implications not only for individual women but also for the broader economy. When women are forced out of the workforce or constrained to part-time roles due to childcare responsibilities, the economy loses valuable talent, innovation, and productivity. Data from the Center for American Progress highlights that women’s labor force participation has been directly affected by the pandemic’s impact on child care, causing a ripple effect in sectors that rely heavily on female workers, such as health care, education, and hospitality.
According to the National Women's Law Center, women account for 95% of the U.S. childcare workforce, a majority of whom are either black or Latina. Many are paid egregiously low wages despite their essential role in supporting children's development. In 2012, the median wage for childcare workers was $9.38, compared to $13.87 for all workers. In 2023, the average salary for childcare workers was $13.51, compared to $24.54 for all workers. One way to bridge this gap is to empower more of these women to operate their own childcare center - whether that be a brick-and-mortar location or an in-home arrangement. Licensed providers are eligible to receive stipends and subsidies to help not only provide affordable options to families, but to earn significantly more than they would as a general daycare teacher. Fortunately, in Greater Peoria, the Women's Business Development Center recently announced a program to support doing just that for our region.
While a step in the right direction, the setback in labor force participation among women due to childcare access has long-lasting effects. Women who leave the workforce for any period of time often face challenges in reentering, including lost seniority, slower wage growth, fewer retirement benefits, and bias in hiring decisions based on assumptions that their return will be temporary. Programs to support the development of childcare programs and the availability for women to follow pathways that lead to small business ownership can dramatically shift wage discrepancies, empower women to become employers themselves, and provide even more available childcare slots in their area. This, in turn, leads to more women being able to reenter - or, in many cases, never leave - the workforce, which drives gender equality in wages, promotions, and hiring decisions.
How Investments in Child Care Can Improve the Workforce
Not only is increased investment crucial for workers in the childcare space to be paid a decent living wage, but it will also ensure women in other fields can maintain employment. The Center for American Progress found that mothers unable to find a childcare program were significantly less likely to be employed than those who found a childcare program. In contrast, no impact was seen on fathers' employment. A recent study by the Center for American Families uncovered that nearly 40% of families delay having children, and another 15% give up entirely based on the regional availability of childcare services. This leads to more population shrinkage and will have long-lasting impacts on the workforce on a generational scale.
Moreover, several highly successful initiatives have been with employers co-opting childcare services for their employees. That has led to significant reductions in turnover, increased productivity, increased employee satisfaction (including among employees who are not even parents), and reduced costs related to hiring and Human Resources. Some employers in the healthcare sector are beginning to build on-site childcare centers in their hospitals that can provide 24/7 coverage, which significantly benefits staff. In Columbus, OH, one hospital began providing this benefit. Within 12 months, the number of job postings for nurses was reduced by 65%, while a competing hospital saw an increase in postings for nurses by nearly 200%. Simply put, providing affordable and accessible childcare to all low- and middle-income working families would enable an estimated 1.6 million more mothers to enter the workforce nationwide.
Overall, paying less out of pocket for childcare and mothers' increased ability to work would help promote greater family economic stability and, in turn, child well-being. Children provided with quality early childhood education are nearly three times more likely to do better academically, be involved with extracurricular activities, and attend college than their peers who did not have this benefit. If the supply of childcare services can gain equilibrium with demand - or if legal policies cap childcare payments at 10% of a family's income - this would yield $70 billion yearly and increase women's labor force participation enough to boost U.S. gross domestic product by 1.2 percent. This increased stability and academic achievement would improve our competitiveness in advanced manufacturing, technology, healthcare, engineering, and many other high-skill fields. With a more inclusive economy, there is a higher likelihood of a rise in public health, life expectancy, and birth rates.
The Path Forward
Here in Greater Peoria, that path forward represents both a challenge and an opportunity. While the lack of accessible and affordable childcare currently limits women's workforce participation, it also has reached a point where there is a recognized need for systemic change on a regional, state, and national level. Addressing the issues of our region collaboratively with the right stakeholders involved at every level of the conversation will gain support for investments and public-private partnerships and demonstrate how employer-led initiatives can bridge talent gaps for their specific hiring challenges. There are many localized initiatives throughout the region. Organizations like the Regional Workforce Alliance's Multiple Barriers Committee, the CEO Council, the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, and Birth to Five work tirelessly to identify successful programs and encourage a regional collaboration and approach to scaling these initiatives to bring success to the entire region.
By having the right conversations with the right stakeholders to design programs and policies that are scalable and replicable, Greater Peoria can work toward a future where childcare is accessible to all, supporting women in the workforce and strengthening our region's economy.
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