As long-term care employers continue to face challenges in recruiting and retaining workers and some employees and potential employees struggle to navigate child care arrangements that make it possible for them to work, the US Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is considering possible solutions that could help providers and their employees.

The committee, chaired by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), held a hearing at which it heard testimony last week regarding what Shaheen called “the urgent need to address America’s broken child care business model, not just for families but for providers, employees and the economy.”

The American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living said it welcomed attenton to the issue.

“Creating access to reasonable, affordable child care options for workers, especially in rural areas, can provide new opportunities for individuals interested in joining the long-term care workforce,” Clif Porter, AHCA / NCAL senior vice president of government relations, told the McKnight’s Business Daily. “We recognize that many of the professionals in our workforce have families to support, and we advocate for sustainable programs that support child care assistance to make this possible.”

As an example of advocacy, Porter noted the Care for Our Seniors Act for nursing homes, supported by AHCA / NCAL as well as LeadingAge.

Shaheen said that although the need is great, “child care remains unaffordable for many families.” The yearly cost of child care in her home state topped $15,000 in 2022, she noted. 

Employment has picked up since the pandemic, according to hearing witness Rachel Greszler, senior research fellow in workforce and public finance at The Heritage Foundation.

“While not all employed parents work full-time and while some have older children who do not need child care, high employment rates among parents mean that many parents must navigate formal or informal child care arrangements,” she said in prepared testimony.

It’s not just the cost of child care that is hurting working parents, Greszler said.

“Perhaps even more significant of a struggle than the cost of child care for families is the dwindling supply of child care,” she added.

On-site child care at places of employment could be one option, according to Greszler. The offering would eliminate added commute time for workers traveling to and from a child care setting and provide peace of mind to parents knowing that their children are close.

Hearing witness Laurie Todd-Smith, PhD, director of the Center for Education Opportunity and the Center for the American Child at America First Policy Institute, told the senators that “businesses can invest in benefits that directly support their employees’ child care needs.”

For example, she noted that some companies now provide annual stipends for workers to cover child care, and others create on-site child care programs. Additionally, Todd-Smith said, the UPS Emergency Child Care Initiative, launched in partnership with Patch Caregiving. The program was piloted from August 2022 to January 2023 and later expanded.

A first for the Atlanta-based integrated logistics solutions company, the initiative aims to mitigate child care challenges and increase employee retention by offering on-site day care services, with 80% of eligible employees participating and avoiding more than 120 unplanned absences,” Todd-Smith said.

She added that “policies that bolster family bonds and empower parents, especially during crucial early developmental stages, merit attention.”