Affordable childcare may be more important than developments in AI for American innovation, says Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First and Girls Who Code.
Saujani spoke about her concerns about affordable childcare in light of emergency federal support for US childcare coming to an end.
Emergency Federal Childcare Funding Expires
The childcare funding expired on September 30, leaving as many as 70,000 childcare centers at risk of closing, with as many as 3.2 million children losing their spots.
The funding stemmed from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Almost $40 billion was directed toward the childcare industry, aiding a sector that typically receives little support from the federal government.
Along with allowing childcare operators to stabilize their businesses during the crisis, some childcare centers also used the funds to keep prices lower for parents.
According to Care.com, many parents struggle to pay for care that, on average, costs $15,000 a year for one child.
Economists have now projected that the expiry of the funding could result in the closure of as many as 70,000 childcare programs across the country.
More than three million children stand to lose their spots in daycares, while parents – who may have to pull out of the workforce to care for their children – could collectively lose $9 billion in lost earnings.
The key to innovation: AI Or Childcare?
Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani spoke recently at the 11th annual Forbes Power Women Summit in New York City, stating that childcare is an economic, not a social issue.
She claimed that the key to unlocking American competitiveness on the global stage is prioritizing what prevents us from having a fully participating workforce.
Saujani says that for all the private sector’s focus on the growth of AI-enabled services and technologies, workers’ access to affordable children may be an even bigger boom to American innovation.
“Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, whether you live in Idaho or New York City, you are going to feel the effects when we go off the cliff,” says Saujani, according to Forbes.
“It’s devastating. And it just shows that we live in a country that doesn’t put families first.”
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