WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — A Harrison County lawmaker will participate in a panel discussion about the economics of investing in child care at the 90th West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Business Summit later this week at The Greenbrier Resort.
Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, said child care, or early childhood education as he put it, sets the pace for future growth and development for children and helps more parents get back into the workforce. The workforce participation rate in the state continues to rest below 54 percent.
“We’re going to do something because what we’ve done in the past is not working,” Riley said last week on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “So, I do think there is a healthy appetite for it. Child care, or early childhood education, is really a conversation that has been in the forefront, especially in the last three years.”
Riley said it’s too early to gauge the impact of House Bill 4191 passed last year that made changes to the state subsidy system, establishes employer tax credits, and adds supports for low-income subsidies. He said proposals like it will help develop an infrastructure that can support the growth and expansion of business and industry.
“It’s not the government’s responsibility to take care of early childhood education, but it is ours to help promote an environment that creates business and private investment,” Riley said.
The average cost of childcare in the state is about $800 per month per child, and many counties don’t have a single provider. The cost of childcare has only increased in recent years with the closure of more than 100 providers, Riley said.
“It’s almost a vicious cycle because they start paying more, then the rates have to go up and there’s also private pay,” Riley said. “It just costs more, and it’s an inflationary cycle.”
The panel will include Leeann Kaminski, senior vice president & human resource officer with WVU Medicine; Marcus Keech, government relations & Trishare partnerships, Wonderschool; and Sarah Bolyard, president & CEO of the YMCA of Kanawha Valley, with the vice president of policy and advocacy from the WV Chamber of Commerce, Brian Dayton, serving as the moderator.
“When you start talking about getting more people back into the workforce, we have to think creatively, and this is one of those paths where we think it will continue to help get people back into the workforce, and this is real economic development,” Riley said.
He added government partnerships can be a multiplier for business and economic development with incentives to improve childcare options and lower costs or create cost-sharing plans. Those types of programs can help improve the conditions to recruit companies to the state and workers to fill the jobs.
“This is a little better opportunity to make my dollar go further, so that helps recruit people to come work for those companies, and it helps give us the benefit of getting our workforce participation rate up,” Riley said.
The Business Summit begins Wednesday and runs through Friday. The child care discussion is part of the break-out sessions scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.