Mass. families lose $1.7 billion in wages annually due to scarcity of child care – Cape Cod Times
By Denise Coffey
The scarcity of child care facilities and qualified workers to staff them is costing Massachusetts families $1.7 billion a year in lost wages due to missing work or reduced work hours, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
Additionally, employers are losing $812 million a year in low productivity and employee turnover and replacement costs because workers cannot find adequate child care, according to the foundation.
What’s needed, the report suggests, is the reform of the state’s child care system. Reform will grow the economy — and lift families, businesses and the state with it…
Massachusetts could pass its own bills this legislative session. Sandra Faiman-Silva, a Cape Cod activist with Common Start Coalition, is hopeful that bills before the state House and Senate will be passed and provide money for child care that would be administered through the state’s Department of Early Education and Care. The legislation would provide a comprehensive approach to securing money, she said.
“Funding is essential,” Faiman-Silva said. “Parents can’t afford it (child care). Facilities can’t run high-quality facilities without money. They (facilities) can’t find workers because of low pay.”