Report says Virginia doesn’t have enough child care but there’s little the state can do about it

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Virginia’s Child Care Crisis

When I was in college, I had a buddy who said he never understood why he always got depressed after listening to the Neil Young album “On the Beach.”

Dude! It is depressing!

Introduction

I feel much the same way after reading Report 579 from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the General Assembly’s research arm. This may be the most depressing thing I’ve read in a long time and, trust me, I read a lot of government reports.

This one is officially a report on “Virginia’s Self-Sufficiency Programs and the Availability and Affordability of Child Care.” When it came out in mid-October, it generated some news coverage for its findings that most Virginians can’t afford child care — ranging from 85% of those with infants to 74% of those with preschool children. 

Furthermore, the report said that 25,000 children will soon lose access to subsidized child care because certain COVID-era funding programs are about to run out. That number may seem large but it’s quite small compared to this: The report says Virginia needs child care “slots” for about 140,000 children who right now don’t have any. 

The Challenge of Child Care in Virginia

And now for the depressing part: The report also said that there was little the state could do about this. 

“Virginia has already implemented nearly all of the approaches most commonly used in other states to improve the availability and affordability of child care,” the report said. “These include: initiatives to incentivize staff and providers to enter and stay in the child care market; training and professional development for child care staff; scholarships for prospective and existing child care staff; retention bonuses; and tax incentives. 

“The state could consider implementing some other initiatives, such as providing grants or seed funding to open new child care programs and creating a substitute teacher pool. Other states have used these initiatives to improve child care access. Still, child care largely operates in the private market, which limits the state’s ability to significantly influence the inventory or cost of child care.”

Child care, the report pointed out, faces two economic problems. To be affordable, the staff can’t get paid much. But because child care workers don’t get paid much, it’s hard to find workers, and there’s frequent turnover. 

The Impact on Workforce Participation and Economic Growth

Now, I’ve heard some say the equivalent of “tough — if people can’t afford to have children, they shouldn’t have them.”

Of course, that’s usually said by people who can afford to have children.

Let’s not debate that today, though. Instead, let’s look at something else. 

All around us, we see a worker shortage. I’ve

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 1: No Poverty
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
• SDG 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
• SDG 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure, and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
• SDG 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
• SDG 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status.
• SDG 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Proportion of men, women, and children living in poverty
• Access to quality early childhood development and pre-primary education
• Recognition and valuation of unpaid care and domestic work
• Employment rates and equal pay for work of equal value
• Social, economic, and political inclusion of all individuals
• Existence and effectiveness of partnerships addressing child care issues

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: cardinalnews.org

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