Child care continues to be among the leading topics the Chamber is focused on in order to support our workforce and get more people back in the workplace. Unfortunately, I was not shocked to read that Child care workers in Georgia are among the lowest paid in the nation. The median wage of $11.71 is $2 below the national average according to the Kids Count Data Book issued by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Georgia Family Connection Partnership.
On the cost side, the report shows that Georgia’s average cost of center-based child care is 3.9% more than the average cost of in-state tuition for public four-year universities. Put simply, it’s cheaper to send a child to college than to send them to child care. In context, parents typically save up for college over the course of their children’s lives.
Until we can find some balance, this issue will keep some people out of the workplace and will prevent some people from having children - further exacerbating our workforce challenges in the future.

Click here to read the full news article on GPB News
Click here for a link to the 2023 Kids Count Data Book