What:
The Commerce Department announced that the chip makers will be required to guarantee affordable, high-quality child care for workers who build or operate a manufacturing plant. Prof. Taryn Morrissey, a child development and child policy expert at American University, is available to comment on this requirement.
When:
March 1, 2023 – ongoing
Who:
Prof. Morrissey’s work focuses on disparities in children’s achievement, development, and health and on public policies designed to narrow disparities, including early care and education. She is a co-author of Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality.
Prof. Morrissey says: “All families need affordable, high-quality child care, and the decision by the Commerce Department to require chip manufacturers who receive federal grants to guarantee affordable, high-quality child care for workers is a step in the right direction. States are making important strides toward expanding access, affordability, and quality, but in much of the country it remains very difficult and very expensive to find child care – which is often a basic prerequisite for parents to get to work.
“The Commerce Department’s requirement will directly benefit the semiconductor plant workers and their families, helping them afford and access child care – and it will help the companies themselves attract and retain a skilled workforce. Moreover, the requirement highlights the priority that the Biden Administration is placing on child care, and a powerful signal that employers who receive funds are expected to take into account child care as a basic workforce need.”
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