Access to childcare is a cascading crisis - a situation that was at its breaking point before the pandemic and loosely held together with pandemic-era relief funding.
September 30, 2023 was a critical day this year. It marked the end of federal childcare funding, which provided immediate cash relief for childcare centers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now that critical childcare funding has expired and sent America over a “childcare cliff,” the potential effects could be disastrous for families, the economy and especially women.
The fact of the matter is that our childcare system was already crumbling. The pandemic and the cliff simply brought it to light for our nation. Today and in the future, you will see more policymakers running on the platform of childcare and more media coverage laying out the impact on families.
Families and Entrepreneurs Brace For What’s Next
The end of the childcare funding has raised concern amongst parents and business owners alike. As this critical support system came to a halt, many working parents - especially female entrepreneurs - found themselves grappling with the impact it will have on their families.
Over the coming months, parents will likely see an increase in childcare costs as entities work to replace the financial support provided by the federal funding. Add on inflation and the current state of our economy, and we’re about to see our nation’s childcare situation go from bad to worse.
United WE Takes Action
You should know by now our organization does anything but sit idle. We are determined to push the United States to the next generation of childcare policy solutions. Our influence here in the Midwest can and will serve as a model to drive positive change for America.
As part of our two-year Women’s Entrepreneur Childcare Project, United WE has formed a childcare commission of national leaders and is also conducting a nationwide survey of mothers who are entrepreneurs. The survey will help us better understand the childcare needs and barriers for mothers who are entrepreneurs in a post COVID-19 environment.
National Leaders Form Commission
The United WE Commission on Childcare and Women’s Entrepreneurship is a critical component of the Women’s Entrepreneur Childcare Project, an effort funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, that will generate new policy ideas in the heartland to reduce the childcare barriers limiting women’s entrepreneurship.
The Commission will share unique perspectives and expertise to increase access to childcare and help identify possible solutions to promote women’s entrepreneurship by increasing access to childcare.
We are delighted to be welcoming our commission of national leaders to Kansas City, Missouri, in early November for an inaugural meeting about the critical childcare crisis. During this gathering we will engage in generative workshops, present new research, foster discussion in a rich small-group setting and tour a childcare program.
The Path Ahead
The path ahead is not going to be easy, but we are determined to improve the childcare crisis. By convening leaders from around the nation we will elevate childcare as the critical workforce development strategy that it is. Together, we will generate new policy ideas about childcare barriers limiting women’s entrepreneurial risk taking and make recommendations to elected officials, business, and community leaders for solutions that increase access to childcare.
If you’d like to join the cause, become a Changemaker today. Monthly donors fuel our research and advocacy efforts. Be a part of our innovative and nonpartisan plan to solve the childcare crisis.
