A collaborative partnership involving the Alabama Partnership for Children, the Alabama School Readiness Alliance, and VOICES for Alabama's Children released the Alabama Child Care Roadmap on Tuesday. This is a strategic plan of recommendations to address six core areas of the growing challenges facing child care providers, families, and caregivers. Child care shortages for children, employers, and the state of Alabama as a whole.

“The disparity in child care services for children under age 6 is 40 percent, which is higher than the national average,” said Rhonda Mann, creator of the Alabama Child Count Data Book and executive director of Voices for Alabama Children. said. “In other words, if parents don't have access to reliable, high-quality child care, they won't be able to work. When employees can't work, employers, businesses, and the economy suffer.”

The roadmap notes that in the first six months of last year, parents missed an average of 46 hours from work due to childcare issues, including a lack of reliable childcare, showing the problem is widespread. There is.

“Child care is a reality of the business market, and Alabama is working hard to meet the diverse needs of all the people it serves: children, families, caregivers, and businesses,” said Gail Piggott, senior advisor for the Alabama Children's Partnership. We need to change,” he said. “Change will take time, but this is a critical opportunity for the state to address the child care needs of working families and could have a transformative impact on labor force participation rates and, in turn, the state’s economy.”

“We also have to continue to focus on quality child care,” said Bob Powers, president of the Alabama School Readiness Alliance. “The first five years of a child's life are where 90% of brain development occurs and lay the foundation for all future learning. Our biggest investment in quality child care and early education opportunities is It is the single largest investment we have ever made to improve the outcomes of our education system and workforce development initiatives.”

The roadmap was created with feedback from 13 listening sessions with child care providers and parents across the state. A survey of more than 330 parents and their 250 health care providers, as well as discussions with state agencies and advocates, also helped frame the roadmap. This partnership receives significant support from the Alliance for Early Success, which produced a similar national report in 2020 and inspired the Alabama Child Care Roadmap. Additional funding for this research was provided by the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation, the Daniel Foundation, the Mike and Jillian Goodrich Foundation, and the Alabama Women's Foundation.

A diverse group of 32 high-level leaders representing a variety of companies established the Alabama Child Care Workgroup. The workgroup held five working sessions between March and June last year.

The Child Care Workgroup has identified six core areas, including long-term and short-term recommendations for each area. The six areas include:

• childcare business model
• childcare workforce
• Affordability and accessibility of childcare fees
• High-quality child development
• Partnership with employers
• effectiveness of investment

Download a copy of the Alabama Child Care Roadmap and learn more about the research and recommendations by visiting: alavoices.org.