Iowa Chamber Alliance Applauds the Iowa House Bipartisan Efforts on Childcare

March 9, 2021

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Chamber Alliance applauds the continued bipartisan effort in the Iowa House of Representatives on a holistic approach to addressing childcare as a workforce development issue in this state. Iowa is in competition for talent to meet workforce needs and the reintegration of working moms and dads is one strategy to meet those demands.

Including today's bills, the House has passed 8 different bills that provide a variety of tools to impact a complicated workforce problem. Today's bills included HF 712 which provides an incentive for developers to make upgrades for child care facilities. This is important as the economics of a potential child care provider can be upended by costly upgrades that are absolutely necessary to provide a safe environment for children.

Executive Director, Dustin Miller, commented that "the bipartisan effort this session on childcare recognizes a complicated workforce problem that cannot be fixed easily. The childcare needs in this state will require a variety of solutions provided to employees, employers and entrepreneurs."