Forum to address child care and labor shortages

Addressing labor shortages and the difficulty working parents have finding reliable child care are two key issues that will be addressed at a community business forum titled “Child Care and the Bottom Line” presented by the Down East Partnership for Children.

Debra Lanham, the nonprofit organization’s interim director of Research & Development, said the issues that will discussed at the Aug. 14 forum at the partnership’s auditorium located at 215 Lexington Street in Rocky Mount will be of particular interest to business owners and human resources professionals.

“Businesses are strongly encouraged to attend to brainstorm innovative initiatives that help employees access quality child care,” Lanham said, adding that the goal of the forum is to share how businesses can see “stronger returns on their investments in their employees” when workers’ child care needs are met.

According to the partnership’s agenda for the event, the objective of the forum is to give participating employers a better understanding of how child care access solutions lead to improved talent recruitment and retention. Lunch will be provided at the forum.

Lanham said the early learning opportunities afforded to students attending child care facilities are another benefit the center can provide.

“Child care is an essential need for employees with children,” Lanham said, adding that child care is “becoming increasingly difficult for employees to find and afford, and child care is a need that influences retention of employees.”

Lanham said that businesses need employees who are happy and productive, but that hinges on high quality, dependable child care.

“Businesses are also our leaders in establishing the future workforce,” Lanham noted.

The partnership works to help children be healthy, lifelong learners by the end of the third grade.

“A child’s earliest years are a critical window of brain development,” Lanham noted. “Early learning opportunities with a high-quality workforce lay the foundation for future success in school and in life. Early educators are building brains and preparing the children who will be North Carolina’s future workers, innovators and leaders.”

The forum will be held from 10 a.m. to noon.