Innamorato launches Allegheny County plan to expand childcare access

WESA- Allegheny County unveiled a new initiative on Wednesday that will increase capacity in childcare and out-of-school programs.

The county will offer grants for childcare providers to hire additional staff and expand facilities, initiatives that will be paid for with a mix of philanthropic, private and public dollars. Officials aim to create 5,000 new childcare slots over the next five years — and to boost employment in an industry where low wages have made staffing difficult.

“It’s about something very simple, but also very important: making sure that working families across Allegheny County have what they need to succeed,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “Because right now, families are doing everything right and they’re still struggling. They’re working hard, they’re raising kids, they’re giving back to their community, but they’re facing real barriers, especially when it comes to finding affordable and reliable childcare.”

The initiative is part of an effort county officials call “Forward with Families.” Innamorato said additional programs will be announced in the months ahead to improve the quality of life for working families. The programs will focus on five key areas: health and well-being, childcare, caregiving and learning, employment and education, housing and food, and savings and cash.

This isn’t Innamorato’s first foray into providing county support for affordable childcare. She previously directed additional funds to a county pilot program providing subsidies to help lower-income families pay for childcare early in her tenure.

That program offered direct support to parents, while Innamorato said the new initiative aims to help the childcare institutions that are struggling to keep up with demand.

Childcare workers are typically among the nation’s lowest-paid employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That leaves many early-education positions unfilled.

“Childcare providers want to serve families, but they need the staff and support to do it,” said Cara Ciminillo, executive director of the education advocacy group Trying Together. Of 126 local childcare programs recently surveyed by another advocacy group, Start Strong PA, 87% reported vacancies that, if filled, would allow more than 2,100 additional children to be enrolled. That’s roughly equivalent to 85 closed classrooms, she added.

“The capacity is already here,” she said. “We just can’t access it without investing in the people who make it possible.”

Rob Cherry of the workforce development organization Partner4Work said that by allowing more parents to work, 5,000 additional childcare slots would be “the kind of investment that actually changes what’s possible for working families in this county.”

“That’s why these slots matter: 5,000 of them is 5,000 parents who keep showing up for work, who take the [extra] shift, who take the training, who take the promotion,” he said. He added that family-supportive policies were important “not only as a retention tool but also as a competitive advantage.”

County officials also announced a re-tooled online childcare program finder to help families find programs that fit their needs.

Innamorato said the approach to creating additional childcare slots will be similar to the county’s work to identify hundreds of units of affordable housing with the 500 in 500 initiative.

“This is really a coordinated effort to support working families across Allegheny County by bringing together new investments and existing programs in one clear, unified strategy,” she said.

The county’s Department of Children Initiatives will lead the effort and focus on the childcare options in highest demand: infant and toddler care, and care outside of typical 9-to-5 working hours, including before and afterschool, evening and weekend programs.

“[T]his isn’t just about creating more slots of childcare,” said Innamorato. “It’s about building a stronger, more resilient system. One that supports providers, removes barriers for families and actually works for the people who rely on it.”

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