Childcare crisis the topic: FWKCC Breakfast Series trio of speakers respond
Finding quality, affordable childcare affects not only the couples involved, it also affects local businesses and the economy as well, according to speakers on the childcare crisis at a Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Speaker Series in Rothchild Catering & Conference Center, 8807 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, Wednesday morning, June 5.
The series featured Matt Ryerson, president/CEO of United Way of Greater Knoxville; Bart McFadden, president/CEO of Boys & Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley; and state Sen. Becky Massey (R-District 6; includes portions of West Knox County).
“It impacts all of us, whether we have children or not,” said emcee Brittany Tarwater, anchor with WVLT-TV News (channel 8, CBS affiliate), who has children of her own. “It’s something that impacts all our daily lives.”
“If you think back almost 50 years ago, in 1976, about 35 percent of households that had children who needed childcare … had one parent in the workforce,” Ryerson said. “Today, it’s flip-flopped, meaning that 65 percent of households with children in that age, where they need childcare now, have all the parents or all the adults in the household working.”
“That’s a significant increase in the number of children who require that,” he added. “On top of that, a region like Knoxville, Knox County or surrounding area, we average around 40 percent, as far as ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained Employee) households.”
“What that means is they are working; they are trying to pay their bills; but at the end of every month, they’re short.” That impacts their decision on whether to pay for high-quality childcare or pay their utility bill.
The speakers agreed the biggest challenges regarding childcare are accessibility, affordability and quality.
Regarding accessibility, “there’s simply not enough slots; there’s not enough childcare facilities; there’s not enough, period,” McFadden said.
“We don’t have enough pods (spaces) for the kids is because of the staffing issue,” Massey said.
Regulation also is a challenge for childcare facilities. Depending on what agency to which they answer — Department of Child Services or Department of Education — they face different regulations, such as “you have to have different-size rooms.”
Regarding affordability, “when you look at most of the childcare costs being in excess of $1,000, in a lot of cases, for a family whose household income may be $50,000, wow, that’s a chunk, that’s a mortgage,” said McFadden, whose organization serves moderate- to low-income families.
Regarding quality, McFadden said when a child is in the care of someone other than his or her parent, “what we want to accomplish for that child, it’s a real challenge.”
“Many kids are not prepared for elementary school,” Ryerson said. “They have an uneven playing field.”
“Childcare is an essential service,” McFadden said. “We need to treat it like an essential service. … We’ve got to invest in a meaningful way. … We’ve got to change the mindset of childcare to child development.”
Bart related a case where a mother had COVID-19 but brought her child, who was asymptomatic, to the Boys & Girls Club, causing an outbreak.
Additionally, when schools close because of a safety issue, daycares follow schools’ calendars and close as well.
“Flexibility is the key,” McFadden said, adding employers need to be flexible with parents.
Massey noted there is a proposed program, Promising Futures, which is not yet funded but could help with the issue.
“We all need to be invested,” Ryerson said, noting that includes businesses and industries regarding flexible hours for employees, offering daycare as a benefit and even providing in-house daycares at the worksite.
