Hampton Roads can help solve Virginia’s child care crisis by leading the way with actionable and innovative solutions, community leaders said.
“Let’s consider how to lock arms and make sure the variety of access to child care is intentionally woven in our region’s DNA and strategic roadmap,” said Sylvia Haines, executive vice president of operations for the Hampton Roads Chamber.
The Virginia Business Roundtable for Early Education convened state representatives and local leaders from businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, economic development agencies and military installations at the Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach on Oct. 4. The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation launched the roundtable a year ago to mobilize efforts around child care as an economic driver and to build support for better public policy and increased investment.
Emily O’Brion, part of Kemper Consulting’s government relations team, explained that access to quality early childhood care and education is important for school-ready children, work-ready parents, thriving communities and the economy.
“We see impressive returns on that investment,” O’Brion said. “It’s something we refer to as the triple bottom line.”
O’Brion shared a chart from the fall of 2022 showing that 40% of children overall did not meet community kindergarten readiness assessments.
“This is also why we have to do better to prepare our kids for schools,” she said.
Kathy Glazer, president of Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, touched upon the growing need for child care and lack of availability, eligibility and affordability.
The region has seen tremendous growth in demand for child care services — 85% from 2019 to 2023 — which speaks to the immense need, she said. But, with the annual rate for child care in the region ranging from just over $17,000 for infants and about $13,000 for preschool and mixed-age classrooms, Glazer said it is exceedingly unaffordable.
“For child care to be affordable, it should cost less than 7% of a family’s household income,” she said.
With all this data comes opportunities, said Anna James, senior vice president government and community relations for Sentara Health. That’s when the attendees joined in tableside conversations to brainstorm solutions to the problems facing families, employers and child care providers.
Civic Leadership Institute President and CEO Mary Kate Andris said her group mentioned the idea of creating retention incentives for child care workers, including fitness centers, health care, education assistance, 401(k), and free child care for their own child (and a 25% discount for a second child).
Amelia Scott, chief experience officer at YMCA of South Hampton Roads, said her table discussed the importance of a mapping exercise to home in on child care deserts and to develop partnerships to infill those spaces.
“We also talked about employers needing to have access to funds to give child care benefits to employees to retain them,” she said.
Greg Young, commander of Naval Installations Command and child and youth program manager, said creating a one-stop online database — similar to militarychildcare.com — for all things early childhood education in Hampton Roads would benefit all.
Jane Glasgow, executive director of Minus 9 to 5, said Ready Region Southeastern in South Hampton Roads has its hands full with challenges, including capacity, affordability and workforce, but it is also equipped to drive solutions. Minus 9 to 5, an early care and education collective impact initiative, is the lead agency for Ready Region Southeastern, part of the statewide network focused on reimagining Virginia’s child care system to improve school readiness.
“Our region is known for its leadership and economic vitality and our pledge will be to ensure that child care is at the center of any economic and workforce innovation we pursue,” she said.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
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