“Coming out of the pandemic, the big challenge our region faced was that a lot of folks were sitting on the sidelines and needed to get back into the workforce,” EO CEO Travis Staton said. “The biggest barrier we saw was accessible child care. This was reported to us by the industry and others. We needed child care so people could go back to work and new folks could get into the labor force.”
Research from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that “higher spending by states on child care subsidies increased the probability of employment and of labor force participation by potentially eligible women.” But according to Staton, the benefits to the region’s workforce should go well beyond that.
“Children who have access to quality early care and education are much more likely to read proficiently by the end of third grade, graduate high school on time, pursue post-secondary education, become gainfully employed, and not sit on the sidelines later in life,” he said. “We’re getting a double benefit from this project.”
One of the investors in the project was Dudley Ventures, which focuses on community impact and projects benefiting from programs like the New Markets Tax Credit. Jim Howard, the company’s president, said the project is a great example of his group’s priorities.
“One of the things that’s really important to us as a community development entity is where we see a project that answers community need,” Howard said. “Child care and early childhood education are truly a priority of the community — not only for the folks seeking child care, but for the employers as well.
“We’ve seen absolutely nothing like it in the country. We think it’s a unique approach. We think it’s a model to be replicated.”
