webinar register page

The Business Sector Role in Solving the Child Care Crisis: Opportunities & Success Stories

Child care has come to the forefront of major concerns for employers as their workforce faces the challenges of insufficient child care availability and lack of affordability. This impacts both hiring and retention. Business needs and the child care crisis go hand in hand: Businesses can’t succeed without productive employees, and parents can’t maintain their jobs or succeed at work without a robust early childhood system to help their families.

This ReadyNation webinar will explore how businesses can respond, keying on the example of Effingham County, in south central Illinois. Hear about the efforts of Stevens Industries, a local manufacturing firm, to open an on-site child care center and the wider work of Effingham County civic leaders, business execs, and service providers to address their community’s need for more child care.

Speakers from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation will join this discussion about concrete opportunities for businesses, and some of the limitations and challenges involved — as well as the significance of business leaders in helping to raise awareness about the importance of broader, public investments in child care and early childhood education.

Moderator: Kate Buchanan, Illinois State Deputy Director, ReadyNation Illinois

Presenters:
- Courtney Yockey, President and CEO, Effingham Regional
Growth Alliance and Chair of the Effingham County Childcare
Research Committee
- Todd Wegman, President & CEO, Stevens Industries, Teutopolis
- Bryan Stokes, Director, Education Portfolio, Robert R. McCormick Foundation
- Aaron Merchen, Director, Policy and Programs, Center for
Education and Workforce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Jan 18, 2023 01:00 PM in Central Time (US and Canada)