By Mary Welander
State Rep., D-114
Mary Welander
Did you know that the conservative estimate of the cost to the US economy because of the challenges associated with childcare is $122 billion per year? In Connecticut alone the estimate is between $1.5-2 billion dollars lost each year. At the same time, the costs for child care providers is going up, resulting in profit margins that are often close to 1 percent and the costs for many families has become completely unsustainable.
Yet we know that child care and early childhood education are essential parts of our economy and the learning foundation for our children. So how do we fix it?
This is the big question that was asked this week when I attended the Hunt Institute Early Childhood Leadership Summit where elected officials, advocates and child care professionals from all 50 states came together to share information and learn from each other. We had a strong bipartisan team from Connecticut that also included the current and future commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood. Over three days we were able to share what we accomplished this last session when we created the Early Childhood Education Endowment, which will create transformational change within the childcare and ECE landscape (details can be found at ctoec.org/early-childhood-education-endowment/).
Through these (and other) actions, we have become leaders in the country in this field, although other states have gone further or chosen different tactics. For example, New Mexico has announced that all child care within the state will be free for all families, and Colorado has implemented more robust and comprehensive supports for providers and families. We will be watching these states and others to see if their estimated fiscal costs are close to what the actual costs are and how we can continue to improve our own systems.
One sobering presentation discussed the anticipated impacts caused by the upcoming changes to federal coverage of certain Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program supports, which is a major concern for all states. It’s important to remember that the investments we make in keeping our community and neighbors healthy through support programs keeps us all healthier and costs less than care provided in crisis/emergency situations, so any projected “savings” will cost much more in the end.
Another impact from the lack of child care that is not often discussed but is something that I will be working on this year is the long-term consequences predominantly facing women (like me) who either chose to stay home or had to stay home to raise children rather than stay in the workforce. While I loved my 13 years as a stay-at-home mom, it did result in a 13-year gap in employment, wage growth, Social Security contributions and potential employer-based retirement accounts. These women are left vulnerable later in life – especially considering that we tend to live roughly five years longer than men. I will be collaborating with other legislators and researchers across the country to study this concern and hopefully find solutions.
How would you address this? You can reach me at mary.welander@cga.ct.gov.