Historic Shortage of Child Care Teachers Shrinks Child Care Availability for PA Families by 26,000 Slots

State funds desperately needed to recruit and retain child care workforce

HARRISBURG (January 2024) – A recent survey conducted by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Policy Lab on behalf of Start Strong PA demonstrates Pennsylvania’s ongoing child care crisis continues to threaten parents’ ability to work and the overall economy.  The survey, conducted between August 29, 2023 and September 21, 2023, details the child care staffing crisis in 762 of Pennsylvania’s child care programs and its effects on working families' ability to access care.

According to the survey:

●        Nearly 26,000 additional children could be served at child care programs’ sites if they were fully staffed.

●        Programs reported 2,395 open positions resulting in the closure of 934 classrooms.

●        Child care providers’ inability to recruit and retain staff is having a direct impact on the quality of their programming.

This historic shortage of child care workers is dramatically reducing the availability of care options for working families, and these incredible numbers are only those reported by a fraction of the total number of child care programs in the state.