CHILDCARE AS AN ECONOMIC TOOL- According to U.S. economic data, the latest unemployment numbers reveal that of those jobs lost over the past two years of the Coronavirus pandemic, more than 60% of those were held by women. There are 1.1 million fewer women in the workforce today than in February 2020. A lot of these women who’ve left their jobs are mothers who have struggled between work and finding adequate daycare for their children. More than half of Americans live in child care deserts. This means many children don’t have access to high-quality early childhood programs that could dramatically improve opportunities for families but also strengthen the workforce. This Friday- the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry are co-hosting a Business Breakfast featuring Sarah Rittling, Executive Director at First Five Years Fund, who will discuss the importance of child care and the impacts it has on the workforce and the economy.
"We have learned and seen firsthand the essential nature of childcare, it is essential to our economy," Rittling said. "Millions of people can't go to work without it so as we think about building a stronger economic future for this country, there's no question that early care and education has to be central to that conversation."
Sarah Rittling is the executive director for the First Five Years Fund, an advocacy organization that works to sustain and expand the support for early childhood education and childcare resources. She will be the keynote speaker at the Business Breakfast Briefing this Friday Morning in Shreveport. For more information check the link on the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce’s website at: www.shreveportchamber.org .
