States are spending more money and creating new incentives to ease the severe child care crisis, with most federal pandemic aid set to dry up in September.
The child care shortage costs the United States $122 billion in lost earnings, productivity and revenue each year, according to ReadyNation, a consortium of business leaders under the umbrella of the Council for a Strong America, a bipartisan nonprofit that promotes workforce solutions.
A December 2022 survey of working parents found that about two-thirds of parents of infants and toddlers reported being late to work or having to leave work early because of inadequate child care. And 85% of parents surveyed said problems with child care hurt their work effort or their time available for work.
