[Senate Hearing 118-384]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-384
THE ROLE OF CHILDCARE
SMALL BUSINESSES IN SUPPORTING
PARENTS AND THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
OF THE
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
APRIL 10, 2024
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
56-457 WASHINGTON : 2024
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
----------
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire, Chair
JONI ERNST, Iowa, Ranking Member
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington MARCO RUBIO, Florida
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland, JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts RAND PAUL, Kentucky
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware TODD YOUNG, Indiana
MAZIE HIRONO, Hawaii JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada TED BUDD, North Carolina
JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado
Sean Moore, Democratic Staff Director
Meredith West, Republican Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
APRIL 10, 2024
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Jeanne Shaheen, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire.................. 1
Joni Ernst, U.S. Senator from Iowa............................... 2
WITNESSES
Ms. Cindy Cisneros, Vice President of Education Programs,
Committee for Economic Development, The Conference Board, New
York, NY....................................................... 5
Prepared Statement........................................... 7
Ms. Rachel Greszler, Senior Research Fellow in Workforce and
Public Finance, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC........ 34
Prepared Statement........................................... 36
Ms. Amy Brooks, Executive Director, Early Care and Education
Association, Lebanon, NH....................................... 53
Prepared Statement........................................... 55
Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith, Director, Center for Education Opportunity
& Center for the American Child, America First Policy
Institute, Madison, MS......................................... 59
Prepared Statement........................................... 61
ADDITIONAL LETTERS/STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD
National Women's Business Council
Statement dated April 10, 2024............................... 86
Votta, Kim
Statement dated January, 2024................................ 92
QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD
Ms. Cindy Cisneros
Responses to questions submitted by Senators Cantwell and
Hirono..................................................... 94
Ms. Amy Brooks
Responses to questions submitted by Senators Cantwell and
Hirono..................................................... 101
THE ROLE OF CHILDCARE
SMALL BUSINESSES IN SUPPORTING PARENTS AND THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE
----------
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2024
United States Senate,
Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:31 p.m., in
Room 428A, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen,
chairman of the committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Shaheen [presiding], Cardin, Rosen,
Hickenlooper, Ernst, and Hawley.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SHAHEEN
The Chair. [Technical problems]--opening statements, and
then we introduce the witnesses. And I should just announce for
everybody in the audience, since it is Wednesday and a small
business hearing, there is a vote in the middle of course, so
at some point Senator Ernst and I and others will probably go
out and vote and then hopefully come back.
I also have a hearing, another hearing going on at the same
time, so I may have to leave for a while for that. But we have
worked it out, so we will still be able to listen to all of
you. Today, the committee is going to examine the urgent need
to address America's broken childcare business model.
In my home State of New Hampshire, an estimated 73 percent
of families need childcare, yet it remains unaffordable for far
too many families. This forces--the average yearly cost for
center based infant care topped $15,000 in 2022. This forces an
estimated 16,500 Granite Staters each month to sit out of the
labor force.
That results in lost economic activity for both the State
and for individual families. And in the State where our
unemployment rate has been below 3 percent for several years
now, that takes a huge bite out of the workforce we need to
keep businesses operating.
The childcare shortage now costs America $122 billion a
year in lost wages, productivity, and revenue, and families are
losing $78 billion every year in the time that it takes to
search for work and lost earnings. Families across America are
relying on us to help childcare providers stay open and provide
affordable care options.
In the United States, most childcare businesses operate on
less than 1 percent profit margin, and they all have to thread
a very delicate balance between charging families enough to
operate, but not too much so that they can afford a spot. This
business model not only affects small business childcare
owners, but also their employees, as childcare workers are
chronically underpaid.
There are only 10 States where the median childcare worker
salary offers them a living wage, and many States fall far too
short of that standard. Now, to put that in perspective, and I
know we are preaching to the choir here, particularly among our
witnesses, but the average hourly wage of a fast food worker in
2022 was $0.11 higher than that of a childcare worker.
Yesterday, the Small Business Majority, a national small
business advocacy group, released the results of a survey of
small business owners across the nation where almost 60 percent
report a lack of access to childcare as an impediment to their
business growth.
Right now, the repercussions of the childcare crisis are
being felt across every sector of our economy. We need to act
swiftly to stabilize the childcare industry. I look forward to
hearing from our witnesses today.
And with that, I will yield to Ranking Member Ernst for her
opening statement.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR ERNST
Senator Ernst. Good afternoon, and thank you, Chair
Shaheen, and to all of our witnesses for being here today. We
truly appreciate it.
As I travel from river to river across Iowa, I constantly
hear from working families who need more childcare options. In
every one of our 99 counties, childcare availability has a
direct impact on our employers and economic growth.
But folks, the answer to this challenge is not a Washington
driven, pricy, one size fits all solution. Common sense fixes
and a favorable regulatory environment can increase access to
childcare for working families and provide stability for small
childcare providers. Bidenomics and high cost of living has
forced families to pay higher prices for childcare.
National daycare and preschool costs are up nearly 5
percent since just last year. In Iowa, the cost of tuition,
school fees, and childcare have increased by 3.6 percent just
since last year. Meanwhile, our small business childcare
providers are facing higher operating costs and struggling to
find workers.
Skyrocketing food, energy, and rent prices make it tougher
to keep their doors open, even as parents work harder than ever
to make ends meet. I am proud to have consistently worked to
expand access to childcare, especially in our rural areas.
I have worked with Senator Marshall and Senator Braun on
Expanding Childcare In Rural America Act to allow childcare
providers in rural agricultural communities the ability to
access USDA business development grants so we can support
working families.
And here on the Small Business Committee, Senator Rosen and
I have worked across the aisle to pass our Small Business
Childcare Investment Act out of committee, which would allow
nonprofit and faith-based childcare providers access to SBA
loans.
I am also closely tracking the SBA's recent announcement
that it is exploring expanding the 7(a) and 504 loan programs
to nonprofit childcare centers. This is a major change that
should not be made without Congressional input.
For that reason, I would have hoped to have had the
opportunity to speak with someone who works for the SBA about
the specifics. But despite outreach from my staff and I, SBA
failed to specify whether they planned to include faith based
nonprofits. I fully intend to find out.
No two families or two States are alike. Parents should be
empowered to choose the best care option for their families.
State leaders must ensure that a range of childcare options
flourish, whether it is home based childcare, daycare at a
local church, or an after school center, every single child
should be in an environment where they are safe, healthy, and
loved.
I am proud that Governor Reynolds, in my home State of
Iowa, is setting an example we can all learn from. She
incentivized employers to provide childcare and encouraged
local governments to collaborate with businesses of all sizes
to address their community's childcare shortages.
These initiatives created thousands of new childcare slots
exactly where Iowans need them. This approach is what we need
in every single State in the country to deploy, and I look
forward to hearing from our witnesses on how we can expand
childcare choice and enable childcare small businesses and
entrepreneurs to thrive.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield.
The Chair. Thank you, Senator Ernst. And again, thank you
to all of our witnesses. We earlier had Administrator Guzman
from the SBA, Senior Advisor to the Administrator, Diedra
Henry-Spires. I don't know if she's still here. There she is.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Our first witness is Cindy Cisneros. She is the Vice
President of Education Programs for the Committee for Economic
Development of the Conference Board. Ms. Cisneros leads the
organization's portfolio of education policy work, including
early childhood, K-through-12, and post-secondary education.
Ms. Cisneros received her bachelors in Political Science
and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and
she holds a master's in Public Administration from the John F.
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Ms. Amy Brooks is the Executive Director of the Early Care
and Education Association in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Through
her work at ECEA, Ms. Brooks supports innovative efforts in New
Hampshire and Vermont that address early childhood education
workforce, recruitment, and retention.
I was able to visit Ms. Brooks' career cultivator last
summer, and I have to say, I thought it was one of the most
innovative programs to train childcare teachers that I have
seen in the last 30 years. So, that is very exciting.
Her training program attracts more workers to the childhood
education field by combining classroom based learning,
mentoring, and hands on experience in a childcare facility. And
I hope that we will be able to get you to describe the program
while you are here.
Ms. Brooks holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in
Elementary Education and Teaching from Lyndon State College and
Champlain College, respectively. I am also pleased to welcome
our other two witnesses, and I will ask Senator Ernst if she
would like to introduce them.
Senator Ernst. Okay, so I want to--oh, excuse me. I want to
welcome Ms. Cisneros and Ms. Brooks, and thank you both for
joining us. And I will introduce the rest of our witnesses who
are testifying today.
And I will start with Ms. Rachel Greszler. She is a Senior
Research Fellow in workforce and public finance at the Heritage
Foundation. And this Greszler is a Senior Research Fellow,
again, at the Heritage Foundation. Prior to joining Heritage in
2013, Ms. Greszler served as a Senior Economist on the Joint
Economic Committee for seven years.
She earned several master's degrees from Georgetown
University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Mary
Washington, where she currently serves on the Board of
Visitors. So, thank you for doing that.
And then we also have Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith. And Dr. Laurie
Todd-Smith is the Director of the Center for Education and the
Center for the American Child at the America First Policy
Institute.
Previously, Dr. Todd-Smith served as Director of the
Women's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she
focused on increasing childcare access for working parents and
advocated for paid family leave.
As senior education and workforce advisor to Governor Phil
Bryant, Dr. Todd-Smith spearheaded several legislative
initiatives to improve early childhood care and education in
Mississippi. Notably, she is also a former early childhood and
public elementary school teacher.
Dr. Todd-Smith earned a doctorate in Education from
Mississippi State University, a master's degree from Western
New Mexico University, and a bachelor's degree from the
University of Arizona.
And I have also worked with Dr. Todd-Smith on the issue of
childcare in the former Administration, and I want to thank you
for working with my team and I on those initiatives. So, I do
want to thank all of our witnesses here today. And we will
recognize they are working mothers or grandmothers.
And as someone who was also a working mom, I want you to
understand and know that I know firsthand the care and work it
takes to juggle childcare while providing for a family. My
daughter is also a new mother, I am a brand new grandmother,
and she right now is going through some of those struggles in
finding childcare for her newborn infant.
So, thank you so much for taking the time to share your
thoughts with our committee today and how we can empower States
to develop family first childcare solutions. Thank you all very
much for joining us. Thank you, Jeanne.
The Chair. Thank you, Senator Ernst. Ms. Cisneros, we will
begin with you, and we will go right down the panel. So, would
you like to begin.
STATEMENT OF CINDY CISNEROS, VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION
PROGRAMS, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE CONFERENCE
BOARD, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Ms. Cisneros. Good afternoon. My name is Cindy Cisneros,
and I am the Vice President of Education Programs at the
Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board that
serves as its public policy center and is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan, business member driven organization. CED does not
lobby or endorse specific legislation.
Our business leaders know that a skilled workforce is
paramount to economic prosperity. From CED's perspective,
access to quality, affordable childcare is a two generation
strategy. Across the country, the need for childcare is most
related to mothers in the workforce.
While there was a decline in working mothers in the spring
of 2020 with the onset of the COVID pandemic, the U.S. labor
force participation rate for mothers of children of all ages is
now higher than it was in 2019, before the pandemic.
In 2019, CED released to study, Childcare and State
Economies, which reviewed the use of childcare by families and
the economic impact on States. We found that childcare as an
industry had a total economic impact of $99.3 billion.
Currently, we are in the process of updating that study.
The pandemic hit childcare businesses harder than overall
services sector. In the spring of 2020, revenue dropped by 36
percent for centers, and childcare employment declined by more
than 30 percent.
That was a loss of 290,000 jobs. With funding from Congress
between March 21 and March 2021--or 2021, sorry, sending an
additional $52 billion to the States for childcare, the market
was actually able to rebound. In 2022, there were about 624,000
childcare businesses in the U.S., 76,800 center based
employers, and 547,000 childcare homes.
While childcare centers represent 12.3 percent of childcare
businesses, they serve about three-quarters of the children in
care and earn about 86 percent of industry revenue. Since 2020,
3,900 net new childcare centers were added relative to the pre-
pandemic period. Center based revenue increased by about 40
percent to $58.9 billion in 2022.
Home based revenue increased by about 13 percent to $96
billion in 2021, the most available data. While the number of
centers grew, the number of family childcare homes declined by
17,200 compared to 2019.
By the second quarter of 2023, childcare wages increased 27
percent to $31,797. Home based providers earned an average of
$17,472, with net earnings of $10,400 after operational costs.
However, childcare wages are low compared to other service
related jobs and communities.
Childcare is a business, small business. Whether it is
center based or home based, operating funds for each program
are largely derived from parent fees. On average, the share of
children from birth to 14 in paid care declined from 20.2
percent in 2019 to 19 percent in 2022. This is about 1.2
million fewer children in childcare. The price of care varies
by State, by setting, and by age of the child.
A report CED released in just January found a large gap
between the incomes of families who pay for childcare in those
who do not. The income gap suggests that the price of care,
when considered in the context of other household expenses like
rent or mortgage, makes childcare unaffordable for many
families.
It is difficult to estimate the impact of the increase in
Federal funds on the sector's revenue and recovery because of
the way that the U.S. Census Bureau reports the data. For
example, we don't know how much of the revenue earned by
programs is from parent payments compared to Federal relief
funds.
It is not clear whether program revenue and higher wages
are sustainable once the supplemental Federal funds are
expended this September. We have the following three
recommendations.
First, a broader discussion of how the country invests in
childcare is warranted. We need an integrated review of the
whole early care and education landscape to understand gaps and
develop strategies.
Second, to help fill the gap between what parents can
afford to pay and a livable wage, we can take a look at what
Louisiana has done with a workforce tax credit that is earned.
And third, we can expand support for small business development
centers. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Cisneros follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The Chair. Thank you. Ms. Greszler.
STATEMENT OF RACHEL GRESZLER, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW IN
WORKFORCE AND PUBLIC FINANCE, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION,
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Ms. Greszler. Thank you for the opportunity to be here
today. As a mom of six young kids, the youngest of whom just
started kindergarten this year, I have been navigating
childcare for the past 15 years. It is not easy.
But instead of having all the answers, what I have realized
is that there often aren't straightforward answers, at least
not ones that apply universally across different childcare
providers and across different families whose preferences and
needs can vary over time.
In my testimony today, I would like to discuss the current
landscape for working parents, the Government's role in
childcare, and to suggest some ways that policymakers can
expand childcare options.
While many families have a parent who stays home with kids,
the majority of parents, 80 percent of them, are participating
in the workforce. And parents' employment has actually
increased significantly compared to non-parents since the
pandemic.
Particularly surprising is the fact that women with
children under age six have experienced the biggest gains,
nearly ten times as much as any other group. And this happened
even as the number of childcare workers has declined by 11
percent, which might suggest that the COVID-19 childcare funds
did not necessarily increase supply.
A likely explanation, though, for that rising employment
parents, despite a decline in the number of childcare workers,
is that increased workplace flexibility and remote work has
enabled more family care, and that is a success for many
families because 73 percent of parents with young kids say that
they would prefer to either have a parent or relative care for
their kids.
According to the Census Bureau, only about one-fifth of all
parents and one-third of parents with kids under age five have
someone other than a relative caring for their kids. While
advocates of a Federal childcare entitlement claim that more
kids in childcare centers and more parents in employment would
be an ``investment,'' those arguments ignore the impact of
parents caring for kids.
Importantly, the Nobel laureate, whose work is most often
cited by advocates of Federal childcare entitlement actually
said that he ``has never supported universal preschool, and
that while Government care can potentially compensate for the
home environments of disadvantaged kids, no public preschool
program can provide the lifetime benefits of parental love in a
well-functioning family.''
Since family care is parents' greatest preference, and
because center based childcare is scarce in rural areas, a
Federal entitlement would do more to drive up costs and limit
the supply of care than to help families achieve the care that
they want and need.
The childcare entitlement in the Build Back Better Act
would have been inaccessible to most faith based and in-home
providers, and those are precisely the type of providers we
need more of. In-home providers are significantly more
affordable, more flexible in their infrastructure--a home and a
caregiver exists everywhere across America.
Yet since 2005, the number of in-home providers has
plummeted by more than half. In large part, this is because of
excessive licensing requirements and administrative burdens.
Time prevents describing all the major things that
childcare providers must do, everything from fire codes and
space requirements, down to the tedious requirements of
prohibiting duct tape, and specifying rigid drink offering
schedules, but a study of licensed in-home providers in
Illinois found that in addition to providers spending 51 hours
a week caring for children, they spent 18 hours performing
unpaid administrative work.
While there is no silver bullet to childcare struggles,
there are things policymakers can do to help increase childcare
options. First is ensuring that existing Federal funds can be
used at families' providers of choice.
That includes making Head Start funds portable and not
precluding in-home and faith-based providers from Federal
funds. Second, Federal lawmakers could make it easier for
employers to provide childcare benefits by amending the Fair
Labor Standards Act to treat childcare the same way that we
treat health insurance and other benefits. Third is more
parents desire flexible work and minimal formal childcare.
Policymakers should codify a bright line test for
independent contractors and allow a safe harbor for in-home
babysitters who prefer not to be treated like formal household
employees.
And lastly, State and local lawmakers should consider
establishing multiple levels of licensing standards with a goal
of increasing those in-home, faith based, and employer provided
childcare. As more Americans desire flexible work, childcare
providers also need more flexibility to meet parents' desires.
The biggest takeaway that I would like to convey is that
there is no one size fits all solution, and State and local
communities are best equipped to help families. Federal
lawmakers can do more to help parents and kids by removing
barriers that prevent families from achieving the work in
childcare that is best for them than by creating new programs.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Greszler follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The Chair. Thank you. Ms. Brooks.
STATEMENT OF AMY BROOKS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EARLY CARE AND
EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, LEBANON, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Ms. Brooks. Good afternoon, Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member
Ernst, and members of the committee. Thank you for this
opportunity to speak as a former childcare business owner, and
now on behalf of a group of 120 licensed family and childcare
business owners in--based in Vermont and New Hampshire.
And as a former elementary school teacher, I quickly
learned that many of the children in my class had their first
experience in language and literacy building when they entered
kindergarten.
With little access to high quality childcare in my
community, I resigned after eight years teaching third grade
and opened a childcare business in an effort to disrupt the
cycle of catching up in elementary school. My husband and I
used his life insurance policy to put it down in a building in
order to keep a low mortgage payment.
We worked long hours and dedicated ourselves to this
business, as most small business owners do, but it wasn't
before long that I had to raise tuition just to cover rising
operational costs. I lost some middle income customers that
were caught between qualifying for adequate assistance and
being able to afford the care.
Over time, the only way to absorb rising costs was to keep
payroll costs low. No other element of operating my business
could be adjusted. What makes up the budget of a childcare
business? On average, payroll costs make up 80 percent of the
budget, leaving little room for cost cutting.
For example, in a classroom of 16 three year olds, a
program that is open from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., it requires
125 payroll hours to cover that group. At only a $15 wage, it
amounts to $118 per week, per child. And that does not include
payroll taxes, workers comp, no benefits, no paid professional
development, or any other operational costs.
That is the model now. Low wages keep costs low in order to
make childcare more affordable for families. This has led to
market rates that reflect this model and not the true cost of
care. I sold my business after 20 years and now lead a network
called the Early Care and Education Association, made up of 120
licensed center and family based providers.
I work with these childcare businesses on a daily basis,
and they tell me they are struggling to reach a break-even
point. Although our innovative workforce training career
cultivator is bringing new people into the field, wages and
benefits remain a barrier to recruiting and retaining staff.
We need approximately 100-225 trained staff in my region
just to reach the full capacity of licensing that we have. And
they struggle to compete with the other businesses that are
able to pass on the cost of competitive wages to their
customers. While many businesses are turning to automation and
remote work to bear the rising costs, childcare businesses have
fewer options, no self-checkout, no remote, no hybrid options.
Quality childcare is reflected by low teacher child ratios,
proper training, adequate wages, and benefits for staff.
Affordable, high quality childcare has a direct correlation to
better outcomes for children entering the public school system,
fewer Title I reading referrals, and behavioral interventions,
as well as earlier diagnosis and interventions, and this leads
to better outcomes for families.
It means less missed work due to childcare issues and
better performance, and more retention of highly trained
employees after parental leave. The economist James Hackman has
quantified that investment into high quality early childhood
programs for young children at risk can have a 13 to 1 return
on investment and I have seen this firsthand.
Over my 20 years in operating a childcare business, I work
closely with early intervention in my school district to
identify and address problems early, and in many cases,
eliminate the future need for costly special services.
This is exactly the reason I left public school to open a
childcare business with high quality early education services,
giving all children in my care a chance to enter school
prepared to learn and disrupt the cycle of catching up. I have
recently heard from an OR nurse and several nursing staff that
have reached out for help and have exhausted their search for
childcare.
My region includes five medical centers, including
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which is the only level one
trauma center in New Hampshire, and it employs 8,000 people. A
survey of the childcare businesses in my region this past
January revealed that more than 750 slots are unused due to
lack of staffing.
The workforce in these childcare businesses underpin the
workforce in our community. Recent surveys, as the Senator
remarked in her opening statement, have shown that 16,000 men
and women per month are not able to enter the workforce in New
Hampshire due to the lack of access to affordable childcare.
Additional investment should reflect the true cost of care
and include higher qualifying income limits for families with a
child under three. Families with children under three incur
extra costs due to a child's--the young child's needs. The
result of this investment would be for parents to finally
afford the true cost of care.
Childcare businesses can raise wages, invest in paid
professional development opportunities, and potentially expand
operational hours. Thank you, Senator Shaheen, for this
opportunity to speak on behalf of the childcare industry in my
region.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Brooks follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The Chair. Thank you very much. Dr. Todd-Smith.
STATEMENT OF LAURIE TODD-SMITH, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR EDUCATION
OPPORTUNITY AND CENTER FOR THE AMERICAN CHILD, AMERICA FIRST
POLICY INSTITUTE, MADISON, MISSISSIPPI
Dr. Todd-Smith. Hello and thank you for the opportunity to
be here today. As you heard earlier, I have had a long and
rewarding career at every level of the education continuum.
I have been a preschool teacher, public school teacher,
childcare director, researcher, policy advisor, and then
Director of the Women's Bureau at Department of Labor. I am
also a grandparent of a two year old sweet little girl named
Evie Marie.
So, of all my years of experience in this field, I have
really come to believe that early childhood education is the
most important U.S. policy we could focus on, and I so
appreciate this committee focusing on that today and being part
of this conversation.
As you know, the first five years of life play a critical
role in the development of shaping future learning and success
with children. The research on brain development is very clear.
The interactions that children have, whether they are good or
bad, are very meaningful and critical in their brain
development.
When I think back to my time as a kindergarten teacher, as
you mentioned, I vividly remember the stark differences in the
children that I served. Some would come to the first day of
school ready to read and talking and knowing all their colors,
and others had never held a book, and others had never eaten
with silverware at the table or been read to.
And so, there was quite a gap there with what is happening
in the schools, or in prior to coming to kindergarten. I
learned firsthand very early in my career that these supportive
environments facilitate optimal growth and adverse conditions
have lasting repercussions.
When we think about what is doing--what is best for the
business of childcare, the focus needs to be on early health
and wellness, strengthening families, and supporting parents
who are essential drivers of young children's well-being.
This means advancing the whole family through a two
generational strategy that allows each member of the family to
thrive. One of the most successful ways that the early
childhood field has seen improvements is through a State system
approach to aligning all the services in a State.
Some innovative States, like North Carolina, have actually
created a dedicated position in their Department of Commerce to
be able to help address the challenges of high quality and
affordable childcare. Arkansas, Georgia, and New Mexico have
improved all the alignment of the services for young children
and families by consolidating State agencies and establishing a
governing board for early childhood education.
Georgia, in particular, created the Bright From the Start
Program, which oversees every single child--early childhood
education program in the State. Iowa has also established a
Childcare Task Force that addresses shortages and employment
obstacles in that State. Another thing States are doing that I
think is helpful to this conversation is improving data
systems. I experienced this firsthand in the Governor's office
in Mississippi.
We started with an inventory of all the silos in
education--in early childhood education that were happening and
linked it with all the real data from the other State agencies.
So, the Mississippi system now includes longitudinal data of
early childhood, K-12 education, community colleges, higher-ed,
as well as workforce.
So, the system is used to generate reports and help inform
policymakers about what Is working and what Is not working in
the field of early childhood, all the way through the
workforce. We also know childcare is one of the most
significant expenses for families with children--with young
children.
I mentioned the quality of the environment in which
children spend their day is very important, and there is no one
size fits all. You have heard all of those things today
already. And looking at factors that drive up the cost of
childcare, many States are currently reviewing their licensing
regulations.
We can all agree that health and safety regulations for
children are very important. In my research for my doctoral
dissertation, I studied all 50 States and their licensing
regulations, and I found that the standards varied greatly in
all the States, and some were unintentionally driving up the
cost of childcare.
The requirement for all preschool teachers to have a
bachelor's degree in any field is actually--was a plan to
ensure a qualified workforce is particularly detrimental. Young
children need to benefit from an effective workforce.
There is no evidence that having a bachelor's degree in any
field makes a difference for preschool teachers to be more
effective. There are real ways we can help to retain the
childcare workforce. Credential based childcare apprenticeship
programs are happening all over the United States.
Texas, Iowa, Arkansas, Florida, and many other States have
promising solutions, offering valuable experience and training
for a growing workforce. Registered apprenticeships are a great
tool to help recruit workers in high demand fields and bring
more people into the field of childcare.
In closing, the challenges in the childcare industry
created at the State level, require State level--State led
solutions. The best way to improve childcare policy is to
identify and support and highlight the work of these innovative
States and assisting the whole family through the two
generational strategy, while enabling adults to work and
supporting young children's learning and development.
I so appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony before
this committee today on this very important topic, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Todd-Smith follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The Chair. Well, thank you all very much for giving us a
lot to think about.
And Dr. Todd-Smith, I am glad you mentioned the early brain
research ahead, because one of the things that as Chair of the
Education Commission of the States, when I was Governor and
focused on early childhood education, one of the things that
struck me is that children's development goes like this in
terms of the graph. Very dramatic in the early years.
But public support for a child's development goes just the
opposite. We spend the least in the early years when it would
do the most good, and the most in the outer years when it is
going to cost us more for any investments. So, it is a really
critical challenge, and we have to figure out how we can
reverse that arc.
Ms. Cisneros, I wanted to ask you about the gap that you
talked about in the way we collect data and whether we need to
change that. Would that be helpful as we are looking at how we
collect data?
Ms. Cisneros. I do--[technical problems]. Thank you. I do
think it would be helpful. Especially in my other work, the
same issue has come across at other educational levels, K-12 to
post-secondary.
So, having some continuum with early learning before kids
start the formal school system would be important and helpful,
especially with regard to transitions. So, transition from
early education into kindergarten, and I know there has been
more focus now on supporting principals in elementary schools
to help do just that, as well as the transitions even from
middle school to high school, to make sure kids are still on
track.
And also, after high school, in terms of what are their
next steps, is it college, is it training. And to get more
feedback about the choices kids are making. So, I do think it
is beneficial.
The Chair. Thank you. Ms. Brooks, I talked about how
enthusiastic I was when I visited the career cultivator because
we have had such a challenge with losing childcare teachers and
you have done a great job of figuring out how to train more
teachers quickly and get them into the field.
Can you talk about how you have done that and the
difference that it has made, and the challenges with retention,
which you referred to a little bit in your opening?
Ms. Brooks. Yes. Thank you. Our career cultivator is part
of a--it is a three part workforce building strategy.
We know that when high schools and community college system
used to have a strong practicum component of their teacher
training, we saw less people prepared to enter the workforce
and more turnover.
So, a, for us, by us model where providers were saying,
this is really what we need help with, we understood that we
do--we actually do general recruiting for staff, but we did
find a niche of people that were kind of on the fence, no
experience, sometimes even little workforce experience at all,
and we needed to develop a model around that.
These people are not college bound, you know, in your
traditional college model and they may or may not be--have made
up their mind about coming into the field. So, we have made a
very intentional program.
It is designed so that people can keep like a hospitality
type of a job at the same time on weekends while we go through
this training. The training addresses basically all of the
onboarding needed to bring on somebody into the field,
including 60 hours of onsite practicum at a lab site.
We also have a component where that program feeds a sub
pool, so that those people are able to not only gain employment
while they are going through this training, but also gain
experience.
And last year, we in just our pilot year, we were able to
cover through that sub pool component, 257 hours of days--257
days, excuse me, of subbing, allowing people who haven't had a
day off all through COVID to keep a day--have a day off and
then keep families at work so that their children had care. All
the while, they are learning about the field. It is a very
successful model.
We also know that through experience working with other
groups that have worked--that are working workforce, that they
struggle with people coming into a 40 hour week, especially in
a high turnover, burnout type of a job.
So, we offer flex kind of entry, so you do not have to be
committed to a part time or full time position. You can come in
and you can actually stay in the sub pool until you are ready
to enter the field.
That flex model works so that it can--these people can also
sub for the family providers as well. So, when they need to
take time off, families don't lose care.
The Chair. That is great. And you provide a stipend for----
Ms. Brooks. They are stipended for their expenses and their
cost of--any expenses to get there, yes. Thank you.
The Chair. Senator Ernst.
Senator Ernst. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I will start
with Ms. Greszler. And thanks again for being here today.
Really appreciate it. It is critical we continue to highlight
the unique ways that parents are seeking childcare options in
their homes, in their communities, and in their religious
centers.
And you touched in your testimony on how unnecessary
regulations can then choke out small businesses. Cutting down
burdensome Government requirements is an important focus of
mine. And what would you say would be those regulatory changes
that we should on this committee be considering to increase the
availability and supply of those childcare providers?
Ms. Greszler. Thank you. Yes, as childcare is always tied
to the workforce, I do think the workforce component is
important too.
And we have seen interestingly, the most recent preference
among parents for childcare is 31 percent of parents want to
have both parents work flexible jobs and share in the
childcare. And then there is other combinations of part time
childcare.
And so, I think that part of the difference in the
licensing and the regulations has to take into account that not
everybody wants the 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. childcare center.
There has to be more variability in the types of childcare
options that are out there, and that predominantly is getting
at in-home providers and faith based providers.
So, a lot of the work really needs to be done at the State
and local level, and that is where I think that you could have
different tiers of licensing. As long as this is made available
to parents, what tier they are signing the children up for, one
parent might feel very strongly that the childcare has an
emergency vehicle on hand so that they could transport kids,
and they want to have those four weeks of records of everything
that their child ate and drank, what amounts at what time,
whereas another parent might not care about that.
And this can open up more availability for having shared
spaces, things like that. But at the Federal level, as I
mentioned, the Fair Labor Standards Act right now, employers
are hesitant to provide childcare because for lower wage
workers who are hourly paid, if they give them a childcare
subsidy or provide onsite childcare, that benefit if the worker
works overtime, they have to pay overtime at a rate that takes
into account that childcare.
So, we exclude retirement benefits, health insurance from
that overtime calculation for employers. So, it would simply be
a little tweak to also exclude the childcare subsidy. And then
one other thing at the Federal level that I think would be
really meaningful to the low income families, where I think is
the most important component here, is allowing Head Start money
to be taken to a provider of their choice.
Head Start costs about $14,000 per year, that is the
average cost of care, but oftentimes Head Start is only a
couple hours a day, so it doesn't provide a childcare solution
for a working family. But if they could take that to an in-home
provider or somewhere else in the community, it would.
Senator Ernst. Very good. No, I really appreciate that.
Those are helpful ideas. And part of our task force in Iowa has
been looking at a number of different options like that as
well. So, I appreciate that.
And Dr. Todd-Smith, again, thanks for joining us. And I am
glad folks like you are out there advising our States on
improving their early childhood care options and workforce
development. I feel exactly, as our chair does, about focusing
on early childhood. So, thank you so much.
We have discussed it a lot of challenges with staffing, and
it certainly an issue that I continue to hear about from all of
the small businesses that I visit, not just in Iowa, but all
over the country. How can States improve their childcare
workforce training and their retention?
Dr. Todd-Smith. That is a great question and thank you for
that. I think it is such a critical part of it. I touched on
the childcare apprenticeship model in my remarks, but I think,
you know, one thing in Mississippi that I clearly remember was
being in the office and hearing that there was a shortage of
welders in the State, and there was a whole team of people that
came forward and created a training module, created an online
learning base.
We had the community colleges create--trying to recruit
more people into welding, all of those things to help our
manufacturing business. And I remember looking at the Governor
saying, can we do that for childcare? And there is a whole
group that was already looking at career and technical
education.
So, I think one way that is also working well in States is
tying it to the existing workforce structure as a technical
certification for teachers to obtain and using existing
programs that are in place to help move that along.
Apprenticeship models are an absolutely wonderful idea. We
had a group called Milwaukee Tools in Mississippi, one of our
manufacturers, and he asked--you know, he said, in Mississippi,
I need more women in the workforce. They are better on the
plant, with more detail.
Do you think if I opened a childcare center at the plant, I
could get more women recruited into the childcare center? So
that was another way where he helped support, that organization
helped support childcare centers and increasing teachers'
interest in that.
So, through apprenticeships, through employer sponsored
childcare, the idea you talked about with changing the coding
at Department of Labor to allow for the benefit of childcare
subsidies, I think all of those are ways to try to help the
system as a whole.
Senator Ernst. That is fantastic. Thank you. I yield back.
The Chair. Thank you, Senator Ernst. Senator Rosen.
Senator Rosen. Well, thank you, Chair Shaheen, Ranking
Member Ernst. This is a really important hearing, and I want to
thank the four women witnesses, for being here to testify, for
supporting our families, for thinking creatively out of the
box, how to help our families grow and thrive. This is so very
important.
And, you know, I know, Senator Ernst, we have our--one of
our favorite bills we have together, the Small Business
Childcare Investment Act. I know she has referred to it, but
this is really, as you have just said, a crux of--a
foundational issue for all of us.
And so, I mentioned when Administrator Guzman came before
the committee last month, the lack of access to affordable
childcare. Like I said, you just alluded to. It is a crisis
that demands immediate action.
Infant childcare in Nevada, it cost families over $13,000 a
year on average, and the rising cost of childcare is
financially squeezing parents across the State and across the
country. And like I said, I am going to keep mentioning our
Small Business Childcare Investment Act until we get that
passed, because it is--I think it will be a game changer.
And it is going to increase the availability of affordable,
high quality childcare for working families by, for the first
time, allowing nonprofit providers to have the same access to
SBA loan programs as for profit providers. That is a game
changer. It has been over 260 days since that legislation
passed out of this committee.
There is no excuse for finally getting this long passed to
bill across the finish line. So, Ms. Cisneros, can you speak
about the ways that the childcare crisis really impacts not
just our workers, but our small businesses, right.
How passing this bipartisan bill is just going to make such
a difference in every community, urban, rural, underserved,
childcare deserts everywhere, affordable childcare deserts, I
would say everywhere.
Ms. Cisneros. Thank you for that question. It is a very
urgent and compelling topic in terms of both access and
affordability.
And that is the challenge in terms of thinking about the
childcare industry, is that it is complex and there is no one
solution to resolving the main areas that include workforce
development quality for those early educators and make sure we
have got the right educators in the setting with kids.
We have got to make sure that there is an actual living
wage for those who do have small businesses and who are owners
of childcare businesses. That is always a challenge. And we
have to work with, I think, stakeholders, including the
business community and employers in helping to think about
different solutions. And that is one thing we have done at CED
is really try to engage the business community.
And there are different ways in terms of improving access
and affordability. Different options range from sharing
information about childcare itself, what good childcare quality
looks like.
It could be part of onboarding materials when new employees
join. They can also provide subsidies to help offset the costs
for employees. And, if they are really ambitious, they can
provide onsite childcare directly.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. Can I--I just have about a
minute. I want to get another question in, because I think
about the flexible childcare options. We have to look at how we
lower the cost, make it more affordable, work with our
businesses. But how do we increase childcare for families who
don't work traditional hours?
I can tell you, in Nevada, we have a shortage of about
4,000 nurses. Many nurses work in hospitals. Hospitals are 24/
7, 365 days a year. And so, we have seen shortages for
childcare for these critical jobs that are in our hospitals,
let's say.
And so, Ms. Brooks, can you speak to the current
availability of affordable childcare for those parents who work
these important jobs, like nurses, for example. There is so
many others, but we will say that for now. The nontraditional
hours and what role childcare small businesses can play to
reduce barriers for them.
Ms. Brooks. Thank you for that question. Nontraditional
childcare hours has been a problem we have been thinking about
for a long time. And, you know what my experience is, what we
understand about, you know, if you are in a manufacturing
community, working with--and actually, my region has five
medical centers. So, we deal with around the clock care.
Senator Rosen. Spaces. We have issues with remote spaces,
of course.
Ms. Brooks. And--you know, one of the challenges is that,
you know, if you are a nurse and you work the night shift,
there tends to be some sort of a differential when you work
that shift. In childcare, we are barely paying people enough to
have a living wage, in many cases under a living wage.
There really isn't enough bandwidth to be able to move
people into, you know, something with a differential. So, you
know, cost is obviously an issue. But I think using family
childcare is another option. Family childcare can be--is often
thought of as more flexible. And really working with family
childcare as potentially an option in case there isn't enough
need, is a perfect option for people.
And then, making sure that children in that care have
everything that they need for that shift is kind of another
issue that we are dealing with, whether it is sleeping
arrangements, or eating, or you know in the cost of food--if it
is provided.
It is kind of an enigma we are trying to figure out. I
think we need to look at maybe another industry that does those
cost differentials and see if maybe we can recruit staff based
on those.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.
The Chair. Thank you. Senator Ernst went to vote, so I get
to ask some more questions. And I was just thinking about my
own experience where I had children at home from the time the
first child was born and until the last child went off to
college and left home for 30 years.
And during that period, we had every childcare option that
was available. You know whether we had somebody--we had a nanny
for a while. We had family who stayed with the kids. We had,
for a period, one of them stayed in a childcare center.
So, we tried it all. And it always felt like I wasn't doing
what I needed to do to ensure that my kids had the
opportunities that they should have. They have all turned out
just fine, but I think that reflects what most parents feel as
they are looking at how to address childcare needs.
And so, is there anybody--as we look at other
industrialized nations, is there anybody who we think is doing
childcare in a way that we should be looking at and trying to
learn from, who may be doing some things better than we are? I
will just throw that out for all of you.
Ms. Greszler. I don't have an answer there other than to
say that I think some other countries have more structured
systems. But what you have just said, you know, very much
resonated with me.
We have been through all of the different types of
childcare, too, including the fly by your--to the parents
during COVID right when they were home for a year and a half.
And it is always going to be a struggle, I think.
You know, are we doing the right thing? But that is where I
think as policymakers, the top priority has to be how do we
help more families be able to achieve what they feel is best
for them in that time, in that situation, because it is not the
same across different families, across different States, or
even, you know, when you have three young kids at home versus
only one young one and older ones.
And so, I think it is just allowing the combination of the
work and the childcare together. Seeing how we can open more
doors to pursuing the opportunities that work for us.
The Chair. Ms. Cisneros.
Ms. Cisneros. And even though I don't have an exact answer
either, I do think it is worth taking a look at other
countries, especially in Europe and Scandinavia. They
definitely have a different system of government, so therefore
they have a different type of structure that can support
programs like this.
Some are free and accessible. And there also happens to be
a much stronger emphasis on the family as the center unit. And
so, I think as part of that cultural approach, they spend a lot
of time researching and finding ways to support families, and
that is why they do invest a great deal in childcare.
The Chair. Yes, Amy.
Ms. Brooks. I, you know, my mind actually goes to the U.S.
military. The U.S. military invests tremendously into young
child and their family. In fact, the process for finding
childcare in a military base is often easier.
Family childcare on a military base is encouraged. People
that are home and their spouses are off in service, they are
actually trained to do the work as a business and supported,
and so that they are able to make a living wage doing it.
And their communities are set up so that, you know,
obviously zoning and things like that aren't a barrier. So, I
actually go to the U.S. military as an example.
The Chair. I think that is an excellent example. You know,
the military looked at who joins the military after we got an
all-volunteer military, and they figured out that the highest
percentage of people who join the military had family members
who had also been in the military.
And so, if they wanted to influence the caliber of recruits
to the military, the best way to do it was to invest in early
childhood education. And they have been great. They have more--
or at least for a while, they had more childcare centers who
were part of that National Association for the Education of
Young Children than private centers, which was very impressive.
Now, I have to say they are experiencing some challenges, I
think, with that right now. But it is an excellent example. Dr.
Todd-Smith.
Dr. Todd-Smith. Yes, that is a great example. I have
visited several military preschools, and the quality is really
important. And that is what came to mind for me when you asked
the question in other countries.
I have actually visited preschools in Italy and Finland,
and their teaching method for early childhood education is
really in depth. And I talked about that brain development. It
is almost a reverse model. The best learning practices happen
in the ages of 0 to 5.
They also do multi-ages in their classrooms with a big
family focus, as has been stated already. But really
emphasizing and following what the research says about brain
research versus daycare.
We don't take care of days. We take care of children. It is
just the whole culture of what children are learning and how
they are learning is treated at a very high level in other
countries.
The Chair. Yes. I agree, and it is something that we have
got to help people--help us all to focus on because that is our
future.
I can remember one time somebody said to me, you know,
children may only be 20 percent of our population, but they are
100 percent of our future, and we need to recognize that as we
think about how we support them. I am going to go vote, Senator
Ernst. So, I am going to----
Senator Ernst. Should we wrap then after my round of
questions? Okay.
The Chair. Yes. So, want to go ahead?
Senator Ernst. Yes, I will go ahead. And thank you again so
much. And I wish I had been here for that part of the
discussion about the military and childcare.
So, my daughter and her husband are both active duty Army.
And so, having a new baby and finding somewhere for that baby
to be, especially when you have parents who are working very
odd, unusual hours.
This week my son in law is in the field. And so, it just
becomes very difficult when you are a single parent juggling--
juggling those issues. So, but thank you for looking into that.
I think there is a lot of unique challenges out there across
the spectrum when it comes to our families.
Again, the one size does not fit all model. We have got a
lot of single parents, maybe grandparents that are trying to
help with that--I mean, there is just so many different
situations.
Ms. Brooks, if I could turn to you. In your testimony, you
mentioned major employers in your community have pointed to
childcare as one of the two top barriers to having the
workforce that they need.
And in my home State of Iowa, several employers have
partnered with local government and small businesses to
increase childcare capacity. What steps have employers in New
Hampshire taken to increase the childcare options available to
their own employees?
Ms. Brooks. There is a lot of innovation going on in New
Hampshire. I will kind of get to the point is you can open a
facility, but staffing the facility is a major barrier.
And we have actually seen it happen where an employer
sponsored program opened and the staff of the area went to that
program, and it actually resulted in a net loss of slots. So,
really kind of attending to the--to having a full force
workforce.
And, you know, kind of the strategy in New Hampshire where
we are sort of thinking is trying to grow, but at the same time
trying to get all of our slots used. As I mentioned in my
testimony, we have 750 slots not being used that are licensed
and ready to go in my region just from not having the
workforce.
So, addressing the workforce is part--it needs to be part
in the solution.
Senator Ernst. Yes, absolutely. Thank you. And Ms.
Cisneros, in your testimony, you highlighted the significant
decline in home based childcare over the past decade.
And this decline not only reduces parent choice in what
will best serve their child, particularly in some of our most
rural areas, like Southwest Iowa, but also forces parents to
fork out more for higher cost options.
Can you speak to how removing regulatory barriers for home
based childcare providers might be able to help these families?
Ms. Cisneros. Thank you for that question. And it was
concerning to see the decline in home based childcare
providers. It has been in decline for over 11 years.
And we are seeing the decline based on several reasons,
including people aging out and wanting to retire, not being
able to make a sufficient salary, you know, to support their
families, and also because there are many other types of jobs
in their communities where they could actually earn more.
But we do believe that having more family childcare homes
and supporting those are important, especially in rural areas,
because that is basically a lifeline. They are more flexible.
They are cheaper. They are easier to access. And so, that is
important.
And there is an organization, in terms of trying to expand
the supply, First Children's Finance in Minnesota that works
with 14 different States and really seeks to help childcare
businesses launch, get started, whether it is, you know, homes
or centers.
And so, that could also be a resource to expand supply.
Senator Ernst. Yes. Thank you very much. And with that, I
know I have just got a few seconds left, but I will go ahead
and yield back, Madam Chair.
The Chair. No, you should go ahead.
Senator Ernst. Okay. Wonderful. [Laughter.]
Senator Ernst. Ms. Greszler, then I will turn to you. In
your testimony, you highlight the administrative burden that
regulatory requirements can have on home and family based
childcare providers. Can you go into a little more detail about
the administrative requirements and some of the burdens that
they do create?
Ms. Greszler. Yes. Thank you. I don't even know a fraction
of them, but there is a lot of documentation and tracking of
things, and this gets at the difficulty of having like part
time spaces because every new child coming in, then you have to
have an individualized plan for that child in writing.
You have to have their vaccination records and they have to
be up to date. So that could be if it is an infant, every
couple months when they are going to get new shots, you have to
have those. You have to keep track of--for weeks, when they
have eaten, what things are drunk, what things and in what
quantity amounts. And just all of this paperwork, it seems
like, well, one thing I can see why we might want that, but
then it just adds up and adds up and adds up, and it takes so
much time.
As I mentioned that 18 hours of unpaid administrative work
for an in-home provider. I think that is probably part of the
reason for that decline, is that people are just deciding, I
don't want to keep doing this. And then when individuals
consider, like a mom who has young kids and wants to stay home,
says maybe I could watch some other kids.
But when they look into all of the requirements that are
necessary to convert their home to a licensed childcare center
and then all the paperwork, that is difficult to do while you
are also caring for your own kids, so.
Senator Ernst. That is true. Yes, thank you. And you also
highlighted in your testimony the benefit of employers choosing
to provide childcare options on site, which not only helps
working parents day to day, but also increases employee
retention.
And this again is not across the board, and it does depend
on situations, but what can we do at the Federal level to
support these efforts and then give our small business owners
the flexibility to offer childcare services based on the needs
of their own unique workforce?
Ms. Greszler. That is where I think that Federal lawmakers
need to turn to the States and ask them to consider what are
the licensing requirements that are preventing these. As I
mentioned, the FLSA change would definitely open up that door.
Senator Ernst. Right.
Ms. Greszler. And there are some limitations, but certainly
spaces like hospitals where you have a large center and you
have irregular hours, that onsite care would be so important to
have.
But just the requirements and the legal liabilities that
come alongside it, I think just going through those with a fine
tooth comb and saying, could we create a separate tier that
would be, here is licensing for onsite childcare that would get
rid of some of the burdensome regulations that we hear from
businesses say that is why they aren't starting them.
Senator Ernst. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you, Madam
Chair.
The Chair. Thank you very much, Senator Ernst. And before I
turn it over to Senator Hickenlooper, because I am going to go
vote, I want to just point out that a number of the things that
you all have talked about are actually part of the Right Start
Childcare and Education Act that I introduced earlier this
year.
It would expand dependent care flexible spending accounts
that families can use for childcare costs, which is, I think,
something that several of you have mentioned. It would expand
the employer provided childcare credit to allow small
businesses to partner together to provide childcare and create
a new tax credit for childcare workers.
And you all have given several other suggestions that I
think would be great additions to this legislation. So, thank
you all very much for a wonderful discussion and for all of the
great work that you are doing.
And I hope you will stay in touch with the committee and
help us think about what more we can do. I am going to leave
the gavel with Senator Ernst, recognize Senator Hickenlooper.
And again, thank you all very much. Safe travels back. Senator
Hickenlooper.
Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am glad I
got here in the nick of time. I won't say I ran up the stairs,
but I moved swiftly. And it is always great to be part of a
discussion around the importance of childcare and early
childhood education and all the different ramifications around
it that we can have.
One of the lowest compensated components of our workforce.
At the same time, it is one of the most essential, I think,
by--for many different metrics. So maybe, Ms. Brooks and maybe
Dr. Todd-Smith as well, in 2022, more than half of all
childcare centers were running under capacity because of--they
couldn't find staff.
In Colorado, we had Red Rocks Community College, their
childcare development specialist apprenticeship, has been up
and running is a two year program that is helping to hopefully
close that gap, the workforce gap.
So, how can we better support apprenticeship programs like
the one at Red Rocks Community College or in other places to
expand the pool of early childhood educators?
Ms. Brooks. Thank you. One of the things we are finding--we
are doing active recruiting and training on the ground, and
what we are finding is some people are hesitant to commit to a
long term program.
In our State, our program is 18 month commitment. For
people who aren't sure about entering the field in the first
place, that seems like a big lift. So, if maybe if there were,
you know, embedded pre-apprenticeship or a trial kind of
experiential part of apprenticeships where people can make that
firm decision before committing to an 18 month or 24 month
program, you might see--we might see more people coming in and
giving it a try.
It is just really hesitancy from the workforce that we are
seeing. I guess that is--I guess that would be my
recommendation.
Senator Hickenlooper. Ms. Todd-Smith.
Dr. Todd-Smith. Yes. Good question. And I think this idea
of apprenticeships is a really good one to try to help build
the workforce. In Mississippi, we had a program called
Mississippi Building Blocks that was a privately funded
research project to look into what it takes to help childcare
improve.
And one of the things, obviously, to no surprise, is that
they needed--childcare teachers needed more experience and
training and higher salaries. And so, through that private
partnership, we were able to help support the cost of the
training for the childcare worker and then support a stipend on
the end of that training certification process that helped keep
them engaged.
So, programs like that, I think we learned a lot from.
Mississippi also recently started something that I think is so
good. Sorry to keep talking about Mississippi. I just know that
one the best, but we have entered career coaches into the
public schools, and that sounds just like what everybody else
might be doing, but some of those career coaches are from the
different industry themselves.
So, they might be from a car company manufacturer in the
State, or they can be from childcare provider areas of need,
and sort of reaching out to those 8th through 12th graders
about a career in childcare and what that looks like and
linking them to the trainings at the community colleges.
I think there is a big market of people like me that love
children at that age, that would have love to learn more about
it and become part of it. So, I think combining what we know
with public, private partnerships and then expanding this
apprenticeship work at Department of Labor that--that is one of
the things I was really trying to help focus on is raising
awareness that this actually could be part of that registered
apprenticeship program.
Senator Hickenlooper. I think one of the things we are
recognizing is that there is a lack, a dire lack of counselors
around the country and it affects our workforce in a variety of
ways, but that is a very accurate one.
I wanted to make sure in full declaration, I come to this
not randomly, just I am the living proof that there is at least
one miracle left in each of us and I have a 16 month old son at
home. So, I think about how he learns and how he is going to
learn, and who do I trust, my wife works, when we are not
there.
So, Ms. Cisneros, companies like Red Rooster Coffee and
UPS, all of them, I mean, a number of companies that report
that childcare support programs help boost staff retention.
They attract working parents.
That is why, I mean, we are almost to a third of businesses
do that. But as a small business owner, I know that many times
small businesses operate on very tight margins and don't have,
you might not have more than one working parent.
Are there ways we can encourage small businesses to pool
their resources maybe and jointly administer childcare programs
for their particular workforce?
[Technical problems].
Ms. Cisneros. Definitely. There is also the part about
workforce supporting each other and directors in terms of
shared services, so that they are learning from one another.
Many educators and the directors come to the field with a lot
of knowledge about child development, but they don't
necessarily come with best business practices.
So, shared services is helpful not only from that point of
view, but also in terms of reducing some of those back office
costs, such as billing. So that is one potential strategy that
can help illustrate their support in the field among the
childcare educators and directors.
Senator Hickenlooper. Got it. Great. Well, again, thank all
of you for taking time out. I know you are busier than anybody,
and you coming down here and spend your time is much
appreciated. I yield back to the chair.
Senator Ernst. Yes. Thank you, Senator Hickenlooper. And
thanks to all of our witnesses today. On behalf of Chair
Shaheen and I, thank you so much for joining us. A great, great
discussion.
When I ran down to vote, obviously, Senator Rosen had
followed too, and again, she thought this was exactly the right
discussion to be having today. So, we really do appreciate it.
So, I hope we do remain in touch as we continue to work better
to support the childcare, small business owners providers, and
families.
The record will remain open for two weeks for additional
questions and statements. And with that, the committee will
stand adjourned. Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 3:44 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
[all]