Bill by Sen. Kyle, Rep. Mitchell Would Expand State Child Care Options
NASHVILLE — Sen. Sara Kyle (D-Memphis) and Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) want more options for state employees in Tennessee’s “child care deserts.”
Under Senate Bill 741, state departments would have the option to set up child day care services near their workplace if their leaders believed it would help them retain or attract good employees. The Senate State and Local Government Committee is scheduled to hear the bill on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
“The availability of child care is a major obstacle for working parents and parents who are looking to rejoin the workforce,” said Sen. Kyle. “As departments begin offering child care, we believe more private child day care spots would become available for other families in the community.”
A report by Tennesseans for Quality Early Education found that 48 percent of Tennesseans live in a “child care desert” — an area that has three times as many children as licensed child care spots.
“We’re reaching crisis levels when it comes to the scarcity of convenient, quality child care,” Rep. Mitchell said. “This shortage has huge consequences for families and businesses; the lack of quality child care robs some parents of even having the option to return work or finding full-time employment.”
An astounding 98 percent of parents with children younger than five said they experienced negative career impacts due to inadequate availability of child care.
Randy Stamps, the executive director of the Tennessee State Employees Association, says on-site child care would give state departments a valuable tool to retain and recruit a talented workforce in a competitive labor market.
“Access to convenient and affordable childcare during working hours is a strain on many of our valued state employees who are raising young families,” Stamps said. “As our state continues to invest in efforts to recruit, retain and support the best and brightest employees, we believe offering childcare services for the children of state employees improves our ability to attract and keep top employee talent, and is a tremendous way to support working families in Tennessee.”
In addition to a shortage of daycare spots, the cost is also substantial. The average cost of child day care for infants and toddlers is around $200 each week, according to a study by the University of Tennessee.
