News

Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis joined child care workers, legislators, and community leaders at Verona’s Riverview Children’s Center on Monday to discuss child care investments in the 2025-26 budget that the governor signed in November.

Learn More

Shapiro dropped by the center, with which Trying Together has a long relationship, to talk about how investments in the budget would help Pennsylvania to recruit and retain child care workers, expand access to quality care, and ensure that more parents can stay in the workforce.

The state’s child care industry currently has 3,000 unfilled jobs that, if filled, could serve an additional 25,000 children. Providers also continue to struggle with low wages that make it difficult to hire and retain staff. The result is closed classrooms and families being turned away.

To address the shortages and expand child care availability, the 2025-26 budget established a $25 million Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program that will provide about $450 annually per employed to licensed Child Care Works providers. The bonuses would support approximately 55,000 child care workers.

“When parents can’t find affordable, reliable care, they can’t work – and our entire economy feels it,” Shapiro said during the event at Riverview. “We’ve taken real action to lower costs by tripling the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for nearly 219,000 families, but affordability isn’t enough. We also have to expand access. That’s why we’re making investments to help child care centers hire and retain talented educators. These bonuses will help to strengthen the workforce, open more slots for children, and make sure families across Pennsylvania can find the care they need.”

The budget also invests an additional $7.5 million for Pre-K Counts to help providers raise wages and stabilize the early educator workforce. It also includes a $10 million increase for early intervention services to support families with children experiencing developmental delays.

Riverview Children’s Center is a state licensed, four-star Keystone STARS early learning center that serves about 154 children from infancy through school age and employs 32 educators. About 15% of the center’s annual revenue comes from Child Care Works.

“As a working mother, I know firsthand how essential high-quality early education and dedicated educators are – not only for our children’s development, but for the stability and success of families across the commonwealth,” said Stephanie Heakins, the center’s director. “At RCC, we are deeply committed to providing high-equity care so every child, no matter their background, begins with the strong foundation they deserve.”