First Five Nebraska Director Jason Prokop led a panel at the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s recent Economic Development Summit on addressing the state’s workforce crisis. High-quality early childhood care and education bolsters Nebraska businesses, helps grow local economies and supports working parents while providing safe, nurturing environments for young children.
Other panelists included Marti Beard, vice president of early childhood programs at the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation; Diane Temme Stinton, CEO of TMCO, Inc., and child care providers Kyla Habrock of Hastings Early Child Development Center and Erin Branch of Branch Ranch Child Care in Lincoln.
A recent State Chamber survey of about 300 business leaders across Nebraska identified which issues employers see as having the greatest impact on economic productivity and growth. More than half of the respondents (54%) identified child care and education as a top challenge or opportunity for economic recovery from the pandemic.
Child care is the workforce behind the workforce and a crucial component for building strong communities, said Prokop. “If you’re having any type of conversation about economic development, whether it’s within your business or at your local chamber of commerce, in your community or at the state and local governmental levels, you aren’t really having a complete conversation unless child care is a part of the discussion,” Prokop said.
