At the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, we hear many anecdotes about the challenges D.C. parents face in finding reliable, affordable child care that enables them to work. Our staff meetings and neighborhood listservs are regularly filled with sentiments such as “I’m due next month and can’t find child care,” “our provider just closed” and “I can’t miss another day of work — can anyone help with child care?” At the same time, business owners know how hard it is to keep their doors open when key workers are absent due to child care concerns.
But the District has never had a way to measure the actual financial cost of child care challenges — until now.
A new report by Under 3 DC surveyed a representative sample of D.C. working parents of children under age 3 about the issues they face at work due to problems obtaining child care. Using methodology replicated in several states and at the national level, those challenges were converted into financial costs.
Here’s the bottom line: Difficulty…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
