business backgrounder | child care
About 20% of the state’s providers are
closed now, and 44% of early educators
have been laid off or furloughed,
the nonprofit Child Care Aware of
Washington reports.
And, for many of the grandparents,
aunts and uncles that used to take care of
their younger relatives before and after
school, it’s no longer safe to do so.
“We cannot bring our economy back
without having functional child care,”
Secretary Ross Hunter of the state
Department of Children, Youth and
Families said during an AWB webinar
in July.
AWB organized a webinar to highlight
these challenges and discuss solutions
as part of its ongoing work around child
care challenges, which cost the state economy billions each year.
Before the world shut down this spring, AWB was part of a coalition that issued
a report highlighting many of the challenges surrounding the lack of affordable,
quality child care. The big takeaway was that the lack of child care costs the state
economy more than $6.5 billion per year.
Missed work, lost opportunities, lack of productivity and dropping out of the
paid labor force altogether are just some of the challenges families face.
“Washington employers must be proactive and involved in this discussion,” AWB
Government Affairs Director Amy Anderson says. “A plan for the economic recovery of Washington state, and how we move forward
to grow the economy and jobs, must include our state’s child care and early learning systems.”
But there are many ways Washington employers can help.
A flexible work schedule is at the top of the list for Deeann Burtch Puffert, executive director of Child Care Aware of Washington.
She used her own workplace as an example.
“I sat down with my staff, many of whom have school aged children and younger, and said, let’s just get rid of the tyranny of the
nine to five workday,” Puffert said. “Sit down with the full day, seven days a week — most of my employees are exempt — and figure
out how you can get your job done while meeting the needs of your family.”
Puffert also recommends employers train supervisors to support employees with young children; allow employees who can work
from home to do so; contribute to flexible spending accounts for child care; provide financial support to employees with children, or
to child care programs; and tell elected officials to prioritize funding for child care to boost economic recovery.
“Employers have a profound impact on the quality of life of their employees,” Puffert said. “Simple things can make a huge difference
for a family.”
Washington first lady Trudi Inslee also joined July’s discussion, and encouraged more cooperation among the stakeholders.
“I think it’s a time of great opportunity to do some restructuring of the way we do things,” Trudi Inslee said. “And I think the reality
of figuring out how we’re going to fund them is a huge challenge, and I
“I think it’s a time of great opportunity
to do some restructuring of the way
we do things.”
— Washington first lady Trudi Inslee
“We cannot bring our economy
back without having functional
child care.”
— Secretary Ross Hunter, state Department of
Children, Youth and Families
think that the educators, the parents, the business partners, nonprofits and
the early childhood providers all need to work together and collaborate.
And I’m confident we’re going to get there. Because we have to. We don’t
have a choice.”
To learn more and get involved in AWB’s child care reform efforts,
contact Anderson at [email protected].
summer 2020
33