Virginia’s child care crisis: We need to work together to find solutions.

Virginia faces a child care crisis that threatens not only the stability of families, but also the viability of businesses and the long-term health of our state’s economy. Families are increasingly struggling to find affordable, quality child care, which is essential to maintaining employment and overall well-being.

Addressing the root causes of this crisis is critical for businesses, policymakers and communities seeking long-term solutions. Effective strategies must include a range of initiatives, from expanding access to child care to expanding the child care workforce to increasing financial support for families and providers.

Collaboration between the private, public and non-profit sectors is no longer mandatory; this is important for making significant and lasting changes.

Danville-Pittsylvania Desert

As economic development specialists at Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement, we recently completed a comprehensive study of child care affordability in the Danville-Pittsylvania County area. The results are alarming: More than half the region can be described as a “child care desert,” where the supply of child care options falls woefully short of demand. This alarming trend is being reflected throughout Virginia.

The consequences of these deserts extend far beyond individual families – they pose a major impediment to economic growth and the future prosperity of the Commonwealth. When parents are unable to provide reliable child care, their ability to work is compromised and businesses are forced to reconsider expanding or investing in these regions. By not addressing this problem, we are jeopardizing both our workforce and our economic potential.

In the Danville-Pittsylvania region, a shortage of child care providers has left more than 800 children unattended, with the largest gaps in care for infants and toddlers. This problem could worsen as the region’s under-5 population, currently 4,762, is projected to grow by 7% by 2029.

The problem is compounded by the uneven distribution of child care, especially in rural and low-income areas where such services are typically concentrated in just a few locations, leaving many families without options nearby. This trend is happening across the country, with the greatest impact on low-income families who have difficulty finding child care close to their home or work.

Adding to the crisis, child care costs have risen more than 30% in the last five years alone and now rival the cost of in-state college tuition. For example, the average cost of a year of child care in Virginia ranges from $10,000 to $17,000, compared to Virginia Tech’s tuition of $14,586. Families in the Danville-Pittsylvania area spend approximately 25% of their household income on child care, well above the 7% benchmark recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Because of these high costs, many families are forced to make difficult choices, such as cutting back on work hours or leaving the workforce altogether. The financial burden is especially severe for low-income households or single-parent families, who spend an even larger share of their income on child care.

Businesses are also feeling the pain. Child care issues are a leading cause of absenteeism and employee turnover, costing Virginia businesses more than a billion dollars annually. The urgent need for accessible and affordable child care options is clear.

Concerns about quality of care

Even when families provide child care, concerns about quality persist. Low wages and limited benefits in the industry lead to high employee turnover. Across the country, child care workers earn an average income below the poverty level, resulting in a staggering 49% turnover rate.

In areas like Danville and Pittsylvania, the problems are even worse. There are few incentives for service providers to pursue professional development, despite opportunities offered by organizations such as the Center for Early Success and Danville Community College. Low wages mean few service providers can afford to offer pay rises, and employers are hesitant to push for further training as they need to support already stretched businesses.

Parents in Danville, Pittsylvania, have expressed concerns about the quality of available care. Although most service providers meet basic standards of care, they often have difficulty meeting parents’ expectations due to limited resources. The quality of care that providers want to offer often exceeds the funding they receive, making it difficult to improve services.

Health care providers also cannot significantly increase enrollment fees because they already charge near the maximum that families can afford and often rely on subsidies to remain competitive. This creates a broken system in which providers are unable to provide the level of care families want.

Collaborative model

Some employers have begun to support their own child care decisions. Companies like Tyson Foods have opened their own child care centers. And it’s not just large companies that are taking the initiative. For example, Red Rooster Coffee, headquartered in Floyd, launched Yellow Hen, which provides child care for employees and local residents. While these examples are fantastic, it is unrealistic to believe that every company can do something similar.

One of the interesting models we looked at was the consortium-based model. In this model, businesses partnered with local nonprofits and local governments to provide or subsidize child care for employees and local residents both on and near the business premises. Employers worked with nonprofits to open a child care center. The businesses shared the costs of opening and operating the center and turned over day-to-day operations to a nonprofit that would operate the center.

In addition, local governments and economic developers can provide incentives to businesses to encourage them to open their facilities to people other than employees. This model benefits businesses by providing childcare for their employees, and also benefits the local community by increasing the availability of childcare in the region.

Collaboration across sectors is essential to making meaningful progress in addressing the child care crisis. All levels of government, private business, and nonprofit organizations must work together to support child care providers and help families gain access to affordable, high-quality, and sustainable child care.

Dylan Andrews and Ashley Posthumus are economic development specialists at Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement. The Center provides research and university connections to organizations and communities, helping them think strategically and find a path to economic prosperity.

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