RICHMOND, Va. — In the Richmond region, thousands of families face a childcare crisis every day. On Monday, childcare providers across the region will participate in "A Day Without Childcare."
It’s a national day of action highlighting the essential role of early educators in our economy.
On Monday, several daycares will hold webinars and social media campaigns, and you may see some childcare workers wearing stickers to bring attention to this key issue.
“Families are making really hard decisions about whether or not to forgo work or even, you know, getting an education in order to stay home and take care of their children,” said Alex Guzmàn, policy and advocacy coordinator for the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation.
According to research shared by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, the average cost of infant care here in Virginia is nearly $18,000 per year.
While more than 53,000 children under age 5 in the region live in households with incomes that qualify for publicly funded childcare, there are only about 12,000 public slots available.
This is why Guzmàn says it’s important for Virginia lawmakers to do more and invest more money into early childhood education.
“We've seen bipartisan support for that, and even recently, there was a bipartisan poll that showed widespread support across party lines from voters all over Virginia,” he noted.
The childcare shortage isn’t just impacting parents.
In fact, research shows more than 62 percent of childcare providers cite staffing as moderately or very difficult, and over 50 percent are worried their teachers will leave due to low pay.
“Childcare educators are really under a lot of pressure,” Guzmàn explained. “I think statewide the average is about $17 an hour for the wage of an early educator. These are folks who are taking care of our youngest children, our youngest learners. Aside from that, they face challenges with housing affordability and access to healthcare, and so it’s really incumbent on us to provide opportunities to make that a sustainable career for early educators in Virginia.”
Unfortunately, because of these issues, many parents are having to choose to stay home to watch their children, which is also impacting Virginia’s economy and workforce.
“We really believe that, aside from it being a children’s issue and an education issue, it’s a workforce and economic development issue,” said Guzmàn. “Virginia loses about $3.1 billion every year in lost revenues, wages, and productivity from the lack of access to childcare, and as long as there are families sitting on waitlists across the Richmond region, every day is a day without childcare for those families.”
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