Kentucky child care and workforce successes highlighted at national summit

Business leaders, government officials, and members of the non-profit and philanthropic communities gathered in Washington, D.C., last week for a series of important conversations on how access to child care supports economic development and workforce participation. Ongoing work by the Kentucky Chamber to tackle workforce challenges through child care solutions was a prominent topic of discussion at the event. The National Child Care Innovation Summit was the first of its kind, hosted jointly by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Charles Aull, Executive Director of the Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research, moderated a panel discussion on public-private partnerships in which the business community and government partners work together to solve child care challenges. 

Kentucky has emerged as a national leader in leveraging public-private partnerships, especially through the state’s innovative Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership (ECCAP). Created by House Bill 499 in Kentucky’s 2022 legislative session, ECCAP allows the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to match financial support from employers to help employees with child care costs. In the 2024 session, the Kentucky Chamber successfully advocated for funding to continue the program through 2026.

Aull opened the panel discussion by highlighting how Kentucky’s ECCAP serves as one of several examples of innovative public-private partnerships around the country. The discussion included representatives from Michigan, Oregon, Iowa, and Vermont, all of whom were working to support additional models for public-private partnerships to solve child care challenges. 

“Throughout the country, something we are seeing are states and individual communities stepping up and putting innovative solutions on the table, in which employers, non-profit actors, and government actors are all working together to solve big problems,” said Aull. “This is something I’ve seen first-hand. In Kentucky, since 2022, employers have been working together with our state partners through Kentucky’s innovative Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership.”

Aaron Merchen, Senior Director of Policy and Programs at the U.S. Chamber Foundation, also highlighted the important work underway in Kentucky. Speaking as part of another panel discussion, Merchen noted, “We talk about chambers of commerce as ‘force multipliers’… In Kentucky, the Kentucky Chamber was able to get House Bill 499 passed by reaching out to employers, reaching out to providers, and getting everyone on the same page – and saying child care is a huge issue for education reasons and child care is a huge issue for business reasons. … once everyone is on the same page, you can see real momentum and real change.”

The event covered a wide range of different topics centered on the importance of child care to the business community and how child care supports economic development and economic opportunity. It featured numerous high-profile speakers, including U.S Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Executive Vice President and U.S. President of UPS Nando Cesarone, philanthropist Melinda French Gates, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy, White House Economic Advisor Lael Brainard, U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa, and U.S. Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts. 

Find video from the event here.  

Interested employers and workers can learn more and apply for ECCAP here.