In Tennessee, the Department of Human Services (TDHS) is at the center of our state government’s child care efforts. Led by Commissioner Clarence Carter and Deputy Commissioner Cherelle Campbell-Street, TDHS’s Division of Child Care and Community Services licenses, regulates and supports non-school-based child care providers.
Recently, TDHS has focused on connecting with Tennessee employers to inform HR leaders about the child-care-related resources available to business leaders and their employees. Increasingly, the Department has begun to actively foster corporate-led innovations that increase the availability, affordability and quality of child care options for Tennessee’s workforce.
TDHS Director of Licensing Dana Glenn, who is at the forefront of the Department’s child care corporate-outreach efforts, recently shared insights into the what, why and how of that important work in an in-depth Q&A with the Roundtable.
Q: Nearly half of Tennessee families reside in child care "deserts”, and rural communities face special challenges. Can you outline how your Department has responded to improve access to quality childcare in these underserved areas?
A: It is incredibly important to us that all children have access to healthy, safe, and educationally rich environments, regardless of where they reside. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to child care capacity building, and we’ve built out a full toolbox of resources to best support each Tennessee community’s unique needs.
In July 2019, our Department began providing a 15% reimbursement differential to eligible child care providers located in "deserts" and/or in distressed counties. To be eligible, a provider must participate in the child care certificate program.
In 2021, we created the pre-licensure unit to provide focused support for anyone interested in opening a child care program. This unit works directly with communities to learn about their needs and preferences, then works with them on strategies to build out their child care capacity. Our assistance takes different forms based on the needs of each community, but can include needs assessments and provider recruitment events.
While working with communities, we often find that the biggest barrier to building child care capacity is restrictive codes and zoning. We have completed codes and zoning reviews for communities. We’ve also presented concerns and our research on codes and zoning to TACIR as part of a review expected to be completed in early 2025.
An increased area of focus is supporting employers and building out employer-sponsored child care capacity. Not only is this an excellent benefit for employers to provide their workforce, but it is an opportunity for a customized approach that supports the shift schedules of the employer. The NEW Care Partnership grant was created to support this effort.
We have also facilitated “match-making” events to connect employers with existing licensed child care agencies who can use existing capacity or add capacity to meet the needs of the employer’s workforce.
Q: For many Tennessee working parents, annual child care costs are nearly as high as rent, or even college tuition. How do the Department’s partnership initiatives support access to affordable child care?
A: Our Department's Child Care Certificate Program is an incredible primary resource that can help support the affordability of care for many families. Smart Steps is a program under the certificate umbrella that supports families who are working and/or going to school. The household income threshold for eligibility is the 85th percentile of state median income.
Employers can also play a major role in helping with both affordability and accessibility. By investing in incentives for their workforce, employers are supporting retention as well as providing some relief in cost-sharing for their employees. Because child care is critical to workforce availability, it is a great opportunity for employer partnerships. This is why over the last few years TDHS has focused on engaging Tennessee employers to invest in their workforces through innovative child care strategies.
The NEW Care Partnership grant was created to incentivize this type of project. Investment from employers can take many forms ranging from constructing a new child care facility to support for operating expenses or “paying for slots” to be available to the employer’s workforce. This type of investment makes those child care programs more financially stable and sustainable.
[TDHS] also provides resources to child care agencies to help offset their costs. There are grants to support start-up and expansion, as well as annual support and enhancement grants. The WAGE$ program provides salary stipends to educators for continuing education. The Child and Adult Care Food Program provides reimbursement for healthy meals.
Q: Many conversations about child care tend to focus on how much it costs. How would you encourage employers and other stakeholders to think about the benefit side of the child care equation?
A: There is some rather strong data which supports the idea that investing in child care produces significant returns for children, working parents, their employers, and even governments, and which shows the opportunity costs when care isn't available or affordable:
Economists have estimated that the rate of return for high-quality early education is between 6-10% per year for children in disadvantaged families. Long-term returns on investment can be as high as 16%. Investments to raise the quality of, and increase access to, child care programs for low-income families are vital for these children.
On average, working parents with children under 5 are absent from work 13.3 days a year due to child care difficulties. Research shows that child care assistance helps them to experience fewer missed days, schedule changes and lost overtime hours, and to work more hours while remaining at the same employer for longer periods. Women of all educational attainment levels who receive child care assistance are 40% more likely to remain employed after two years compared to those not receiving such assistance.
American businesses lose an estimated $12.7 billion annually because of their employees' child care challenges. Nationally, the cost of lost earnings, productivity, and revenue due to the child care crisis totals an estimated $57 billion each year.
Employer investments in child care benefit not only their workers and productivity, but also their bottom lines. Patagonia estimates they recover 91% of their annual calculable costs to provide child care. And J.P. Morgan estimates a 115% return on investment for its child care program.
A recent study estimated that Indiana's state economy lost almost $1.1 billion in economic activity annually because of child care related absenteeism and turnover, and the state itself lost almost $119 million in tax revenue.
Q: Your office engages a great deal with business operators across our state. How have you seen Tennessee business leaders innovate and partner to tackle their employees’ child care challenges?
A: In the same way that the needs of communities are unique, the needs of employers are unique. There is no one-size-fits-all child care solution, so we work with employers to create a variety of models which can be replicated by others.
Our most well-known model is the Tyson Model. Tyson opened Tyson Learning Center in July 2023. The agency is located across the street from Tyson's production facility, and is licensed to serve over 100 children. This was created as a support for Tyson employees, and Tyson helps subsidize some of the cost of care as an employee benefit.
Concrete Christian Academy, an employer-sponsored child care facility that supports employees of Smyrna Ready Mix, is another example. In this case, the employer recognized child care as a priority, and designated space in its headquarters building to house a licensed child care facility.
We’re fortunate to have built relationships with employers that are willing to share information about child care resources with their employees. For example, many employers have shared our Child Care Certificate Program information with their teams. A website outlining available supports and success stories is in the works.
Q: What aspect of Tennessee’s child care system, in your view, may be in the greatest need of change – and what kind of change is needed in that respect to make child care available, affordable and better?
A: Unnecessarily restrictive codes and zoning is one of the top three barriers to building child care capacity. Not only does this limit the ability to build licensed capacity, but it also leads to the creation of illegal child care operations.
I think there is a major need to review and revamp local codes and zoning in many cities and counties across Tennessee. Local leaders can and should thoughtfully examine such regulations and consider which of them best protect child safety and which others may be posing unnecessary obstacles to growing child care capacity.