Framing the challenge of finding childcare as a critical issue for employers, York-area business and nonprofit leaders yesterday unveiled a new program designed to encourage fresh thinking on the years-old problem.
The program, called Every Child Has Opportunities, or ECHO, plans to dole out $700,000 in grants this spring to expand the number of home-based childcare providers and to fund innovative approaches for boosting capacity at existing centers.
Funding for the grants is coming from a roughly $3.3 million pool, with contributions kicked in by the Kinsley Foundation, Powder Mill Foundation, United Way of York County, J. William Warehime Foundation, WellSpan Health and York County Community Foundation.
In the first found of grantmaking this spring, $200,000 will be available for people interested in starting up home-based care, according to Katie Caples, ECHO director for Community Connections for Children, a regional childcare assistance and consulting organization based in York.
Another $500,000 will be available for existing centers that want to test innovative approaches to expanding capacity and increasing quality of early childhood education, Caples said in an interview with biznewsPA.
The approaches might also include partnerships with businesses and industries, she said.
ECHO expects to make another round of grants in the fall, Caples added.
Why is this happening: In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, York County childcare centers are operating at about 85% capacity, while their overall numbers have dwindled, officials said yesterday at an April 24 panel discussion hosted by the York County Economic Alliance at Keystone Kidspace in York.
The capacity issues are exacerbated by staffing shortages in an industry marked by relatively low pay.
It is not a problem unique to York County.
“We know America’s childcare system is in crisis. It has been in crisis,” said Brian Grimm, president of United Way of York County and former president and CEO of childcare provider York Day Early Learning. “We’ve made some strides but not nearly enough as we continue to battle for high-quality early childcare for our families.”
Why does it matter: Grimm and others argued that the shortage of childcare options translates into lost wages for families and lost revenue for employers.
According to a recent survey, 48% of working parents in York County had to take time off from work at least once per month due to childcare issues, said Cindy Fruitrail, senior vice president and chief of staff at WellSpan.
Another 37% had to reduce their hours, while 24% decided not to work at all because they could not afford or find childcare, she said.
“It’s something that employers can no longer ignore,” added Natalee Colón Gunderson, president and CEO of the York County Community Foundation and a former HR exec at The York Water Co.
What’s next: The application window for the inaugural round of ECHO grants opens May 1 and closes May 23.
Innovation grants will range from $25,000 to $50,000.
The home-based startup grants, offered in partnership with the Bloom Business Empowerment Center in York, will range from $5,000 to $20,000.
“$4 million a year is not going to solve the problem in York, Pennsylvania, but it can be a jumpstart to innovative ideas all across the commonwealth,” said Dave Meckley, a former manufacturing executive who is on the board of the Warehime Foundation.
