MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGDA) is circulating a 10-question, multiple-choice survey to employers about childcare needs in the state.
Executive Director Jina Belcher said the West Virginia Child Care Economic Impact Survey is going to employers of all sizes to gauge the type and level of need.
Lawmakers said they would likely act if it was a workforce participation issue, so all employers, regardless of size statewide, are encouraged to take the survey.
“The employers on what they are challenged with as it relates to the lack of child care or the ability to find consistent child care for their employees,” Belcher said.
The survey will remain open throughout the next legislative session, and Belcher wants to get as many responses as possible prior to the special session set to start Sept. 30. She thought a tax credit would be the most preferred solution but she is hearing the need for multiple approaches to solve the problem.
“They are picking multiple issues as it relates to how they think the state should support the child care issue,” Belcher said. “They’re commenting that this is an all of the above approach.”
Most employers in the state are not large enough to have an onsite childcare provider. Because of this, employers have proposed a co-op approach from community to community.
“Work together as employers to share resources, share funding, and have one provider that serves all of those businesses in a central location,” Belcher said.
The survey is available online and the responses will assist lawmakers in developing a plan that could improve workforce participation, employee retention and productivity. Elected officials have told Belcher they need hard facts from employers in order to develop solutions to effectively deal with the problem.
“The West Virginia Economic Development Council, the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, and the West Virginia Business and Industry Council, Belcher said. “All of these folks are sharing this survey and are working with their government relations team to make sure this is a consistent narrative across the board at the Capitol.”
The availability of affordable and reliable childcare is an important consideration when family members consider employment. Right now, more information is needed from the ground level to give lawmakers an accurate picture of the problem and how a solution or several solutions could be implemented to help families deal with childcare costs and make it easy to enter the workforce.
“That’s really our call to action right now,” Belcher said. “To get as many responses as we can before the legislative session so we can begin to analyze the data because without it we are not going to be able to make sound recommendations to the state legislature.”