Prior to the pandemic child care was already unaffordable for 63% of parents. In fact half of families lived in child-care deserts. One in 3 working families struggle to find childcare despite knowing that access to affordable quality child care is essential to parents’ ability to fully participate in the workforce. Unfortunately the existing business model for child care providers is unsustainable based on historic structural issues including provider payments, scheduling, and the lack of recognition that home based child care providers are business owners to name a few.
Reimagining the infrastructure/ecosystem needed to support child care providers requires solutions that address the historic and structural issues and designing innovative approaches that not only allow the providers of this critical care to survive economically but to also provide a pathway to building sustainable asset building opportunities.
We have a chance to rebuild the child care system with greater access for lower-income families and people of color by addressing known challenges with its financial model. Taking a bold approach that gets to the root cause of the inequity will strengthen our workforce and our broader economy. To do this we must test out new models for investments that support a sustainable operating model, requiring cross-sector support and collaboration:
During this discussion we:
- Described the current challenges around the financing landscape for child-care businesses
- Discussed the need and vision for more equitable cross-sector solutions
- Explored innovations in financing models which can support home based childcare businesses to build assets
- Lifted up opportunities for catalytic philanthropic collaboration and investments
Speakers
Joselyn Cousins (Moderator), Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Bevin Parker-Cerkez, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Eileen Calderon, Child Development Associates
Lauren Grattan, Mission Driven Finance
September Jarrett, Heising-Simons Foundation
Resources
Publications
Articles
- Quality Jobs Count: Three Key Investment Factors to Advance Economic Equity | Mission Investors Exchange
- Housing market is yet another obstacle for San Diego’s struggling child care industry | KPBS Public Media
- Childcare providers on help to expand services (10news.com)
- The Childcare Economy is Broken, And Women are Bearing the Brunt | by Melonie | Common Future | Medium
