[New] EXECUTIVE ANSWERS

REV. RHONDALYN RANDOLPH

PASTOR AT PLEASANT POINT MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

PRESIDENT - OWENSBORO BRANCH 3107 OF NAACP

J. ADAM HANCOCK, CPA, CVA, CFE

PRESIDENT, RINEY HANCOCK CPAS PSC

It’s crucial for employees to have access to quality and affordable childcare in order to be able to focus and be productive at work. It’s not just a parent problem but a national problem affecting the workforce. Without access to affordable childcare you will continue to see a rise in individuals taking breaks from their careers without any other options.

I think that Kentucky House Bill 499 is a great start, creating an incentive for employers to offer a childcare benefit, but employers have to be willing to offer childcare benefits to take advantage of the program. This is a national problem that more than likely requires public policies at the national level to fix. Greater incentives should be provided to childcare facilities and on the parent side as well. More money, over time, should help expand daycare offerings and create affordable options in the future.

KEITH

Cottoner

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR H.L. NEBLETT COMMUNITY CENTER

It’s incredibly vital to everyone. Childcare is an essential need for the economy. Parents often need open childcare due to the demands of their companies. Manufacturing jobs have multiple shifts, and childcare facilities have difficulty providing care for third-shift jobs. Partnerships between childcare facilities and private businesses would be beneficial to the community. The cost of paying employees is where most facilities struggle. If the private companies could help cover the cost or some of the price, the teachers and the whole community would benefit.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey provides Labor Force Participation Rates broken down by demographics. According to the data, there were more women in the potential labor pool than men, but they had a lower Labor Participation Rate by women with school-age children between the ages of 6 and 17. The driving force behind the lower labor participation rates for this demographic are the issues surrounding affordable quality childcare. Sometimes there is a disconnection and understanding of the challenges everyday people face. Providing opportunities out of the problem of limited affordable quality childcare, creates a chance for community to unite and work together toward a solution rather than emphasizing the problem. We can provide subsidies to employers who provide onsite or company sponsored childcare. So, the focus is not on making a profit but the focus is on contributing toward community solutions; this provides companies an opportunity to pool resources together to address the need through possible partnerships. We can expand our Early HeadStart and HeadStart Program through Audubon Area by widening the income requirements that qualify additional children. Creating community or neighborhood daycare centers like we have community recreation centers is another option. We can provide an option for graduating seniors who attend college locally and college students to work the centers as a work study program. Expanding the Child Care Assistance Program by not just providing vouchers to clients but also providing incentives to child care providers who participate. Through bonuses, stipends and rewards encouraging quality and safety can be the gage that determines what the child care provider receives. On the one hand there’s limited availability of child care centers and on the other hand there are valid issues of quality. Communities that work together by producing common sense solutions, can turn the problems into unifiers.