Tribune-Star Editorial: Child care bills deserve attention
There is momentum at the Statehouse to address child care affordability and availability.
Most of the momentum is fueled by the realization — finally — that child care affects the workforce, therefore it affects the ability for Indiana to compete in a national and global market.
'What we hear from not only our small businesses but our large businesses is the need for workforce. The harder we make it on our workforce to enter the workforce, the worse off our businesses are going to be,' Rep. Kyle Miller, D-Fort Wayne, minority chair of the House Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development Committee, told The Statehouse File.
Vanessa Green Sinders, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, echoed those remarks. 'Indiana, we are such a great state to do business in, and we have so much economic development going on, … but that enthusiasm and that economic development is going to take more workforce,' she said.
Research conducted during March 2024 by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce suggests that insufficient child care availability is costing Indiana $4.22 billion in lost economic activity each year. It also found over half of Indiana parents miss work or class due to child-care problems.
Child care-friendly legislation has been filed by two Democrats so far this session.
House Bill 1430, filed by Rep. Wendy Dant Chesser, D-Jeffersonville, will create the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership program. And, Senate Bill 115, filed by Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, will give workers and caretakers increased access to paid family and medical leave.
Both bills have a long way to go to gather support and with a Republican-led supermajority may not have legs to stand on by the end. But they should.
Both Democrats and Republicans are affected by the crisis and both support a healthy workforce for this state.
Both of these bills deserve consideration and debate, but also movement. The General Assembly is uniquely positioned to play a role in solving the child care crisis. They should get serious in doing so.
Affordable and reliable child care also affects families' well-being, the ability to live, work and play in their communities — their quality of life. Don't we want a state that can support families who want to stay here?
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