The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia partnered with the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, Rodel, and the Delaware Department of Education to launch a Research in Action Lab.
The lab’s purpose is to educate the business community in Delaware on the economic importance of the child care sector.
Research in Action Labs brings together public and private stakeholders to identify solutions to problems facing their communities and build upon existing efforts, a release stated.
“Covid-19 has underscored the importance of affordable, quality care where it is most needed,” said Ashley Putnam, director of the Economic Growth & Mobility Project at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. “There needs to be a shift in thinking about child care as a valuable and integral component of a strong economy, and we hope to equip stakeholders in Delaware with data and resources to meet the child care needs of their workforce.”
According to a new brief by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, child care providers have been at high risk of closure throughout the pandemic, threatening the permanent loss of nearly 4.5 million child care slots across the United States and 58 percent of Delaware’s child care supply.
Integrating child care into the workforce system may be especially impactful for Delaware’s economy, given that a majority of Delaware’s children live in households with working parents, the release concluded.
For more information about the Philadelphia Fed’s Research in Action Labs, visit here.
