Local leaders gather to discuss economic impacts of child care shortage in Forsyth County

Educators, business leaders and city officials attended a panel discussion this morning on the importance of quality child care for the local economy. 

According to a report by The Pre-K Priority, 58% of workers with children under five in North Carolina who left their jobs cited a lack of child care as a key reason. 

For panelist Carmen Deese, that statistic is an everyday reality. She’s the human resources director for a manufacturing company in Forsyth County, and said she recently spoke to an employee who had just finished maternity leave, but couldn’t come back to work as expected.

“And it came down to child care," Deese said. "She was truly struggling, because she is an excellent employee, has the support of her husband, but doesn't have extended family here, and finding child care was proving to be nearly impossible. She was in tears.” 

Deese says the child care shortage has posed major challenges for her company, from losing great employees altogether, to dealing with absenteeism from parents who have care fall through and need to stay home. 

“This is a human problem that we have here, and it's impacting the way we have to run our business," she said. 

Panelist Mark Owens, the president and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem Inc., says it’s also a deterrent for businesses considering coming to the area. 

"Anytime we host new companies, we hear about a building and land, and then the very next breath is about workforce. And we can talk about population numbers, we can talk about the skills, and we do really well in all of those spaces," Owens said. "But if we continue to have a strain on access to child care, that workforce participation is not going to be something that companies want to come here and encounter.”

With the economic impacts in mind, panelists shared ways they believe local businesses can take action to address the child care shortage. Those steps include offering child care stipends to employees, partnering with providers and even creating their own centers in or near their location. 

The panel was sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning in partnership with Greater Winston-Salem Inc. and The Pre-K Priority. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.