Citing workforce crisis, advocates ask state to help raise child care wages

The people who care for Pennsylvania’s youngest kids are paid so little, advocates say it’s creating an industry crisis – one with reverberations across the economy.

A coalition of Pennsylvania child care and family advocacy organizations is asking state lawmakers to do something about it. They argue that low wages – and public attitudes that undervalue child care work – harm educators, families and the overall economy, which depends on accessible and affordable child care options.