Clearing the Path: Strengthening Child Care, Strengthening Alabama examines the role quality child care plays in building and sustaining a gender-inclusive workforce to fuel Alabama’s economy.
Key data highlights include:
- Twenty-seven percent of Alabama women with children do not participate in the labor force, leading to lost revenue for families and our economy.
- There only enough licensed child care seats to serve two-thirds of children in Alabama with either one or both parents in the workforce.
- The median wage for a child care professional in Alabama is $9.02/hour, or just over $18,700 per year.
The report also addresses solutions from making quality child care a hallmark of economic development and workforce planning to cultivate a greater child care supply and supporting affordability and access for families at all income levels.