Presentation from United Way Austin — original pdf

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“By laying the crucial groundwork for tomorrow’s workforce and promoting a strong workforce today, high- quality childcare provides a powerful two-generation approach to building the human capital that a prosperous and sustainable America requires.” U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation: Workforce of Today; Workforce of Tomorrow 0 Welcome Cathy McHorse, VP of Success by Six (SX6), United Way for Greater Austin City of Austin Early Childhood Council, Chair cathy.mchorse@uwatx.org Early experiences form brain architecture. 2Source: North Carolina Family Forward In Austin/Travis County Healthy Beginnings Child Care in Austin is Broken • Families who need childcare cannot afford it. Tuitions equivalent to College; Highest • Demand > Supply expense for families behind housing • Costs and Personnel: • Real estate market squeezing costs for facilities (rent/mortgage) • Wages do not attract and retain quality employees. • $8.50 to $16.86 per hour • 56% receive public income supports • Lack of accessible and affordable childcare is a barrier to the creation of middle-skill employment in Austin . Among the nonworking poor with young children, 70% cite lack of child care as a key reason they are not in the workforce. 5 All Child Care is NOT equal Quality is determined by both measures of structure and process • Structure: Group size, teacher : student ratio Texas Ratio Quality Texas Group Max Quality Group Max 2 year olds 1:11 3 or 4 year olds 1:18 1:6 1:10 2:22 2:35 2:12 2:20 • Process: Teacher qualifications, curriculum, quality of student/teacher interactions o Texas allows HS Education and 24 hours of preservice training • Texas Licensing Standards: Ranks 45/50 in the US in measures of child care quality Strong positive impact on development and later school success Low Quality High Quality Behaviors that are protective responses but have a negative impact on development and later school success 6 Texas Data: Share of Children under age 6 in families with NTH-working parents • • • • • • • 39% of all children 48% families with low incomes (under 200 percent of FPL) 51% families of Black children 42% families of Latino children 31% families of White children 53% families with parents with HS education or less 64% of families with a single working parent In ATX: Weekend Care: 1 drop in center; 3 licensed homes, 6 registered homes (4 accept subsidy); 6 listed homes Nighttime Care: 1 drop in center, 3 registered homes (2 accept subsidy) Data source: https://www.urban.org/ 7 Starting Behind Often Means Staying Behind School readiness predicts how likely kids are to pass their 3rd Grade STAAR test: Reading 5x more likely Math 4.4x more likely Source: E3 Alliance Students living in poverty who DO NOT receive high-quality early childhood development are less likely to be productive citizens and workers. They are: • 25% more likely to drop out of school; • 40% more likely to become a teen • 50% more likely to be placed in special parent; education; • 60% less likely to attend college; • 70% more likely to be arrested for violent crime Source: Dallas Regional Education Partners Many Children in Austin Already Behind by Age 6 2019 - 2020 Travis County Kindergarten Readiness 61% 65% 57%* only 38% 41% 34% Non-low Income Low Income Black Hispanic Asian White Travis County Ready Set K! Data 2015-2019; *Unreliable –use with caution; United Way collected data Investing Early and Strategically Pays Off A $3000 difference in parents’ income = a 17% increase in a child’s future earnings Economic Development and Child Care: Building Blocks Increased Workforce Participation Increased Family Income Decreased Poverty Child care Economic Development Better Workforce Education More Geographic Competitive-ness 11 Economic Development and Child Care: Labor Participation and Income Texas Texas > Child Care > Participation > Income 12 Economic Impacts of a Child Care Crisis 10 Child Care Crisis 8 Pandemic Disproportionately Affecting Women Austin/Travis County: • 30% of licensed child care capacity has been lost due to program closures. child care seats. Texas: • 54% of child care supply may be lost, this equals more than 480,000 Nationally: • 22% of all women have left the workforce during the pandemic. • 42% of women with children under the age of two have left work. Caregiving demands are a key factor behind these numbers. Source: Morning Consult for the Bipartisan Policy Center, 2020 ; https://www.americanprogress.org/ Insufficient child care = huge negative economic impact Nationally, each year a child is under age three without sufficient child care it costs $57 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue nationwide. • • • Families lose an average of $3,350 per working parent, in lost earnings and in more time looking for work. Across the 11 million parents of children under age three, this burden is $37 billion per year. Businesses lose an average of $1,150 per working parent in reduced revenue and in extra hiring costs. In aggregate, the annual burden on business is $13 billion. Taxpayers lose an average of $630 per working parent in lower income tax and sales tax revenue. In aggregate, this amounts to $7 billion each year. Bishop, S., Beakey, C., Watson, S., Garrett, T., & Belfield, C. (2019, January). Want to Grow the Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis. ReadyNation. https://www.strongnation.org/articles/780-want-to-grow-the-economy-fix-the-child-care-crisis 16 In Texas, lack of reliable child care for working parents of young children, up to age 3, could cost the State up to $4.9 billion in in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue Bishop, S., Beakey, C., Watson, S., Garrett, T., & Belfield, C. (2019, January). Want to Grow the Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis. ReadyNation. https://www.strongnation.org/articles/780-want-to-grow-the-economy-fix-the-child-care- crisis Want to strengthen the Texas economy, support the workforce of today and build the workforce of tomorrow? Fix the Child Care Crisis. 7 Levers to Influence for Increasing Access to High Quality Child Care Federal: Child Care Subsidy / Pre-K *Existing subsidy funding covers only 1/10 eligible children *Universal Pre-K/Pre-K expansion destabilizes existing (broken) child care economic model Lack of Paid Parental Leave State: Texas Workforce Commission/Legislature/TEA *Texas adds no General Revenue to supplement federal funds *Tension between access & quality = low reimbursement rates Austin/Travis County = 3,000 seats (birth to 13) 7 Levers to Influence for Increasing Access to High Quality Child Care City/County/Local Workforce Board: *Align with SX6 Strategic Plan *2023 SD: Economic Mobility & Affordability *SAVES Relief Fund ARPA Investments (through 2024) • Expanded Child Care Subsidy Improve supports for Family-Based Child Care • • Shared Services Hub to Improve Business Efficiencies • Expand Pre-K Partnerships • Wage Stipends/Tuition • Pilot for non-traditional hour care Who Is Missing: Chambers of Commerce New: Child Care Industry Partnerships 7 Levers to Influence for Increasing Access to High Quality Child Care Fix the Funding Model (Federal/State) Education begins at birth & child care is 2Gen Economic Infrastructure Expand paid leave (Reduce need for infant care) Allow Mixed Delivery Pre-K (Pre-K Partnerships) Generate a Dedicated Local Revenue Stream (ATX) PreK4SA Sales Tax Multnomah County Oregon Wealth Tax Philadelphia Soda Tax Incentivize Public/Private Partnerships (State/ATX) Economic Development Incentives: What about Tesla? Michigan Tri-Share ($3K/$3K/$3K) Co-location with Affordable Housing/City Departments Other cost reductions – Construction! 7 www.earlymattersgreateraustin.org ABOUT EMGA Early Matters Greater Austin is an alliance of current and retired business professionals focused on the critical relationship between access to high-quality early education and our state’s long-term economic success. Three Pillars of Work Promoting Best Places for Working Parents™️ Influencing Public Policy Advancing Innovation & Education EMGA’s Impact • Engaging over 100 Austin-area businesses in the Best Place for Working Parents™ initiative to promote research-proven policies that benefit families and have a positive impact on businesses’ profitability. • City of Austin earmarks $11 Million of American Rescue Plan Act funding to early childhood • Successfully advocated for the passage of several bills during the 87th Legisliative session to investments. Travis County allocated $3M. strengthen early childhood systems in TX. • During COVID, City of Austin established a $15M SAVE(S) fund to provide relief to vital economic sectors, which included $5M for child care. • In October 2020, Austin City Council approved the creation of an Austin Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) that can support vital sectors through new public/private partnerships. The proposed bylaws included creating a Board of Directors that includes representation from the early childhood sector. In January 2020, EMGA launched Best Place for Working Parents™️ in Austin. • Partnering with Ft. Worth, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio • Implementing a first-of-its-kind business self-assessment • Promoting research-backed policies that benefit working parents and business’ bottom line 12 Why focus on family-friendly workplace policies • 70% of non-working middle skilled parents cite child care as one of the top 5 reasons for not participating in the workforce. • 83% of millennials say that they would leave their jobs for one with more family-friendly benefits. • Turnover can cost an employer up to 150% of the base salary of the replaced employee. Economic Development and Child Care: Austin/Texas Competitiveness with City/State ‘Peers” Source: Texas 2036 Strategic Framework 28 Successby6atx.org EarlyMattersATX.org