By: Nathan Kelly

On Wednesday, May 31^st, the U.S. Senate met to discuss the childcare industry. For our relationships in the early childhood education industry, we took away several key points on the hearing, and noted a round-up of how industry groups reacted:

Full Committee Hearing:
“Today, the care workforce at large represents millions of workers across the country, including 2 million childcare workers. Despite their important work, on average, childcare workers make less than parking lot attendants and pet sitters at just $13.31 per hour, and more than 50 percent rely on public assistance programs. Meanwhile, childcare is increasingly unaffordable and hard to find for working families, who rely on childcare to ensure their children are safe and cared for while they go to work each day.” Link

Testimony from the New Mexico Early Childhood Education & Care Department:
“During her testimony, Secretary Groginsky provided an overview of many of the innovations that have made New Mexico a national leader in early childhood policy, including the most expansive child care assistance program in the nation, historic wage increases for early childhood educators, New Mexico becoming the first state in the nation to use a cost model to set child care subsidy rates, and New Mexico’s successful stabilization of the child care industry during the COVID-19 crisis.” Link

Reaction from the First Five Years Fund:
“A lack of childcare affects more than just parents and children; it affects businesses and the national economy. Parents want options. For that to happen, partnerships between parents, municipalities, and businesses are key.” Link

Reaction from Republican Senators:
“There are too many regulations in the way to establish childcare facilities, and the federal government shouldn’t be involved. It makes it almost cost-prohibitive. So if we really want to fix costs, we should start looking at ourselves and seeing another way to soften the amount of regulations and still keep our kids safe.” Link

If you or someone you know has questions about transitioning company ownership, in part or in whole, please contact Nathan Kelly, Director of Founders’ Consumer Practice.