At Philly Y, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Early Learning Investment Commission, spotlight child care barriers in PA

With the sounds of children on the playground outside as background accompaniment, public officials and industry stakeholders met at the YMCA Roxborough in Philadelphia to discuss the current state of child care in the commonwealth – and what can be done to improve it.

“This is an issue across Pennsylvania between big cities and small towns and rural communities,” Davis told City & State Thursday. “We need to make sure everyone, regardless of where you live in Pennsylvania, has the opportunity to get high-quality child care.”

Lawmakers and industry leaders who are part of the state’s Early Learning Investment Commission held a roundtable discussion in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia Thursday, highlighting issues and efforts related to the affordability and accessibility of child care in the commonwealth. 

The ELIC, a public-private partnership that brings together leaders to make recommendations and policy for early learning, is co-chaired by Davis and includes various stakeholders in the caregiving and early learning community. 

Davis, the youngest lieutenant governor in the country and the first Black lieutenant governor in commonwealth history, referenced his own experience and what it means for young parents to receive additional support. 

“As a new dad, I’ve seen firsthand how important it is for working families to have access to high-quality, affordable and healthy child care,” Davis said by way of opening the discussion. “Child care is infrastructure in many ways. It’s just as important for a functioning economy as roads and bridges, as transit and the internet, quite frankly. Without child care, our economy is crippled and working families struggle in many ways.”

The discussion centered around barriers to child care that residents face, specifically accessibility, affordability and quality. It also comes at a time when both federal and state lawmakers have pushed for the continued funding of child tax credits to support working families. 

Tiana Williams, a Philadelphia mother whose son is in his second year of Pre-K Counts – a city program that provides no-cost pre-kindergarten education for eligible children ages 3 to 5 – at the Roxborough YMCA, said safety and learning are the two biggest concerns parents have when it comes to finding child care. 

Moms want “to feel that their children are safe and they’re learning,” Williams said during the discussion. “The early years are super important, so (moms) talk about having a safe space for their children and where they are learning, growing and thriving.”

Many of these safety and quality-of-learning concerns stem from the staffing crisis in child care: In Pennsylvania, it’s been estimated that last summer, there were 2,395 open positions, resulting in the closure of 934 classrooms, which could serve an additional 26,000 children. 

On the ground, those in the industry say higher compensation and wages, on top of easing some regulatory requirements, would go a long way toward attracting and retaining workers interested in early learning and childhood development. 

Jen Segelken, senior vice president of youth development with the Greater Philadelphia YMCA, said offering alternative pathways to the industry and easing certification requirements without sacrificing quality of care is needed not only to entice workers interested in the line of work but to hold onto those starting their careers and helping them advance. 

Segelken said some workers, despite an interest in working in child care, may opt for a job offer from “a retail company down the street for a couple more dollars an hour, with significantly less stress and responsibility.”

“How do we just help it become a more viable and attractive pathway?” Segelken said. “We need a consistent line of less-restricted funding to support the real needs on the ground in every community .”

Last December, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2023-22 to re-establish the ELIC to develop a strategic plan to increase investment in early learning for Pennsylvania children, appointing Davis as co-chair of the commission.

Davis said Thursday that ELIC has slated a series of these roundtable discussions and that he anticipates putting forward recommendations in concert with the Shapiro administration’s preparations for next year’s state budget. 

“Early learning and making sure families in Pennsylvania have access to high-quality childcare is extremely important not just for families but for our economy,” Davis told City & State following the discussion. “If you want employees to get back to work in the office, we have to make sure that their most precious items that they care about – their children – are safely taken care of in an environment where they can flourish.”