Executive summary excerpts

Child care can allow parents to participate in the labor force or pursue education or training; the organized child care industry itself is an integral part of state economies. This report, produced by RegionTrack, Inc., an economic research firm, and commissioned by the Committee for Economic Development with funding from the Alliance for Early Success, provides a broad overview of the child care industry, taking into account both these perspectives.

First, the report examines the role of the industry from the traditional labor force perspective of child care as a means for parents to work and child care’s potential in that role to support regional economic growth and development.

Second, the report provides extensive details regarding the paid child care industry in state economies, including usage rates, the role of public funding, revenues, and business structure. The report estimates the state-level economic spillover effects of the child care industry through a simulation utilizing a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model.