Urge passage of child care teacher recruitment and retention proposal as part of final state budget agreement
July 23, 2025 – Local chamber of commerce leaders, child care teachers and working parents gathered in Philadelphia to discuss how the ongoing child care teacher shortage, driven by unlivable wages, is forcing classrooms to close and leaving working families scrambling to find care. Participants urged lawmakers to prioritize child care in the 2025-2026 state budget by including Governor Shapiro’s proposal to invest $55 million in a new and recurring Child Care Recruitment and Retention line item to boost the pay of the Commonwealth’s child care teachers by $1,000.
“As Chamber leaders, we know that child care isn’t just a family issue—it’s an economic issue. This is why more than 70 of Pennsylvania’s local chambers of commerce are urging the General Assembly to invest in our child care teachers,” said Bob Carl Jr., President and CEO of the Schuylkill County Chamber. “When parents can’t find reliable, affordable care, they can’t work. When child care providers struggle to recruit and retain staff, classrooms close, and employers lose valuable employees. This crisis is holding back our workforce, our businesses, and our entire economy.”
As part of the event, Carl discussed the results of a statewide PA Chamber survey of employers on the impact that limited child care options are having on Pennsylvania businesses.
Key findings from the survey include:
- A staggering 81 percent of employers said they have moderate or significant recruitment and retention issues due to child care challenges.
- The vast majority of businesses — 69 percent — indicated that it is extremely or very important to help their employees meet their child care needs.
Carl noted that these child care issues have a real cost to the economy. He cited a recent economic analysis conducted by the nonprofit ReadyNation and the PA Early Learning Investment Commission showing that gaps in Pennsylvania’s child care system cost working families, employers, and taxpayers a staggering $6.65 billion annually — in lost earnings, productivity, and tax revenue.
“Chambers across the Commonwealth have heard the pleas of employers. I am here to speak on behalf of those businesses,” stated Laura Manion, President and CEO of Chester County Chamber of Commerce. “Study after study shows that every dollar spent on early education yields massive returns—in workforce participation, in school readiness, and in business growth. Child care is infrastructure—just like roads and broadband. If we want a strong economy, we need to fund it.”
A September survey conducted by the Start Strong PA Campaign of 1,140 child care providers from across Pennsylvania showed that 92% of child care programs reported challenges in recruiting staff with 85% struggling with teacher shortages. Those shortages are leaving more than 3,000 unfilled positions statewide. Programs could serve an additional 25,320 children if they could recruit and retain the staff they need, and these numbers represent less than 18% of the total open registered programs in Pennsylvania.
“Right now, LifeSpan serves 800 children across three counties (Lehigh, Montgomery and Bucks),” said Nicole Fetherman, Director, LifeSpan. “But with 10–15 teaching positions perpetually unfilled, we could serve, at minimum, 100 more families tomorrow—if we had the staff.”
In the same September 2024 survey in Lehigh, Montgomery and Bucks County, 167 programs reported 471 unfilled jobs. If those positions weren’t vacant, the programs could serve 4,500 more children.
“We’ve had to close multiple rooms and downsize our program simply because we cannot find educators. Right now, we serve 120 children. But here’s the heartbreaking reality: We’re licensed for 350,” said Brie Rice, Program Specialist, JB’s Bright Beginnings. “It’s time for our elected officials to support us with funding specifically for teacher recruitment and retention. Our children, our families, and our workforce deserve nothing less.”
Samantha Chivinski, Executive Vice President of the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce noted that Schuylkill County has experienced a 20 percent reduction in the number of child care providers since 2019. “In a recent parent survey conducted by our chamber, 63 percent of those parents reported being placed on a waiting list for child care. These waiting lists ranged from months up to three years,” said Chivinski.
Before founding the Norristown Chamber of Commerce and a regional logistics company, Kym Ramsey opened and operated two early learning centers in Montgomery County serving more than 1,200 children and employing over 200 early childhood educators. “The economics of child care simply do not allow providers, who are small business owners, to offer competitive wages while keeping tuition affordable for working families. With the child care sector averaging $15 per hour, we simply cannot compete with other sectors where jobs pay more than $20 per hour and don’t have the responsibility of shaping young minds,” said Ramsey.
Event participants presented new polling data showing overwhelming Pennsylvania voter support for early childhood care and education programs and increased state funding to strengthen and grow these services. The statewide poll, commissioned by the Early Learning PA Coalition and conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research found that:
- 98% of Pennsylvania voters have reached consensus that early childhood education is an important piece of what it takes to lead a healthy and productive life.
- 83% support increasing state funding for child care teacher recruitment and retention.
Megan Gherrity, a parent and teacher from CrossPoint Early Learning Center in Dauphin County shared her daily struggle. “I wear two hats that feel impossible to balance most days: I’m not only a parent of two young children who rely on child care, I’m also a child care teacher. I know firsthand what’s at stake in this fight—not just as someone who depends on this system, but as someone who gives my all to it every single day,” stated Gherrity. “I didn’t become a teacher to get rich. I did it because I believe in the magic of early learning—the way a child’s eyes light up when they finally write their name, the trust in their voice when they whisper a secret. But magic doesn’t pay rent. Passion doesn’t cover health insurance. And no teacher should have to choose between the career they love and feeding their own children.”
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