Building Opportunity Excerpt: The Urgent Need to Invest in Child Care
What if one investment could improve the lives of Wisconsin families today and set the stage for a stronger economy tomorrow?
In his recent Building Opportunity article, Greater Milwaukee Foundation President and CEO Greg Wesley highlights the powerful impact of early childhood education (ECE) - not just for children, but for parents, businesses and communities across the state. High-quality early education fuels children’s long-term success, supports working parents, strengthens the workforce and builds healthier communities. Yet despite overwhelming evidence of its value, Wisconsin’s ECE sector is in crisis.
Providers are facing rising costs and workforce shortages, while families - particularly those with lower incomes - are struggling to afford care. The result? Too many children without access to early learning opportunities, and too many parents forced out of the workforce. In fact, Wisconsin loses an estimated $1.9 billion each year in economic productivity due to child care challenges alone.
In his article, Wesley identifies three key actions that could help stabilize and strengthen ECE in our state:
Finding new sources of public funding to support child care providers
Strengthening subsidies for families through the Wisconsin Shares program
Increasing wages for early educators to improve recruitment, retention and quality of care
As Wesley reminds us, ECE isn’t just an individual issue. Investing in ECE means investing in the future prosperity, health and stability of Wisconsin communities.
At Milwaukee Succeeds, we know firsthand how crucial ECE is for building a stronger, more equitable future. We’re proud to partner with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and others across the state to advocate for the investments and policy changes our children, families and economy need.
Read Greg Wesley’s full message on the urgency and opportunity of prioritizing ECE.
