UPDATE (June 21, 2024): More than 50 organizations have now signed on to the letter.
Local chambers of commerce from across Pennsylvania signed a letter urging lawmakers to address Pennsylvania’s continuous child care crisis. Child care is the workforce behind our workforce and without safe, reliable child care, our working families suffer. The staffing shortage child care providers are facing must be addressed to allow local commerce to thrive.
During a press conference on June 12, President and CEO of the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce, Bob Carl, underscored the negative economic impact of the child care teacher crisis impacting employers in nearly every sector across the state.
The letter, signed by 42 local chambers of commerce and economic development agencies, calls for an investment that directly helps child care providers to recruit and retain their teachers. Alleviating the child care workforce shortage, means classrooms can reopen, increasing the availability of child care for the tens of thousands of families that need it to remain in the workforce and contribute to Pennsylvania’s overall economy.
Thank you to the local chambers who showed support:
Bedford County Chamber of Commerce
Bradford Chamber of Commerce
Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce
Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce
Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce
Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce
Chester Chamber of Commerce
Clarion Chamber of Commerce
Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce
Delaware County Chamber of Commerce
Greater Dubois Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development
Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership
Exton Region Chamber of Commerce
Greene County Chamber of Commerce
HighRidge Improvement District Authority
Huntingdon County Chamber of Commerce
Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce
Lancaster Chamber of Commerce
Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce
Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce
Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce
Meadville Area Chamber of Commerce
Norristown Chamber of Commerce
Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce
Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce
Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce
Schuylkill County Industrial Development Authority
Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation
Somerset County Chamber of Commerce
Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce
Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce
TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce
Upper Bucks County Chamber of Commerce
Upper Perkiomen Valley Chamber of Commerce
Venango Chamber of Commerce
West Shore Chamber of Commerce
Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce
Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce
Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce
York County Economic Alliance Chamber of Commerce