Jason Puckett: Childcare tax credits in Alabama good for business, great for parents
The business community is united in believing that expanding access to quality, affordable child care is essential to alleviate some of the burden caused by the skilled labor shortage we are experiencing today. Parents currently make up 35% of the workforce in Alabama, and we know that when parents have access to high-quality, affordable child […]
Top industry, elected officials urge full support for Alabama childcare tax credit
One of seven bills for Alabama awaiting a vote by the Alabama Senate Finance, Taxation and Education Committee hits a close-to-home issue in the state's low labor force participation rate: child care. Proponents of the bill, including House Speaker Nathaniel Leadbetter, state Sen. Garlan Gudger, state Rep. Anthony Daniels, Alabama Women's Foundation CEO Melanie Bridgeforth […]
Working families set to benefit from Alabama childcare tax credit after approval from lawmakers
The Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday gave final approval to a proposal aimed at increasing workforce participation statewide through new tax credits for working Alabama families, employers and certain child care facilities. HB358 The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by State Representative Anthony Daniels and carried in the Senate by State […]
Only a quarter of Alabama children eligible to receive federal childcare funds receive it
The First Five Years Fund, a child care advocacy group that works with federal lawmakers to reduce the cost of child care and improve accessibility, released a new data sheet for Alabama on Wednesday revealing that only 24 percent of eligible children in the state receive federal child care funding. The Child Care Development Block […]
Alabama childcare roadmap offers plan for childcare shortage
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, […]
Expanding access to high quality childcare builds support among Alabama lawmakers, working families
More than 200 advocates gathered in Montgomery last week to urge the state Legislature to address public policy concerns and opportunities for child care in Alabama. Alabama has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, but it also has one of the lowest labor force participation rates in the nation. One of the […]
Alabama, national leaders strategize childcare access at annual Women’s Foundation research event
The Women's Foundation of Alabama this week hosted its annual research showcase, bringing together Alabama leaders to address the business case for child care and the benefits that expanding access to child care would bring to Alabama's economy. The event, “Clearing the Path: The Business Case for Child Care,” will feature U.S. Chamber of Commerce […]
‘Unfathomable’: Childcare Worker Facing More Than 1600 Charges Of Sex Crimes
An Australian childcare worker has been charged with more than 1,600 sexual offenses involving children in what law enforcement officials have described as “horrifying” and “beyond the imagination”. According to CBS News, an unidentified 45-year-old man has been charged with a total of 1,623 counts, including 136 counts of rape, 110 counts of having sex […]
