(Host) A new study has measured the importance of childcare to working families in Vermont. About half the employers in Vermont have at least one worker paying for childcare. Those parents earn about a billion dollars a year, about 13% of the wages in Vermont, and pay more than $100 million in state and federal income taxes.
The study was commissioned by the Windham Child Care Association and the Peace and Justice Center. Pat Moulton Powden of the Springfield Regional Development Corporation says there is a lot of skilled labor staying home with kids. Sponsors hope to get employers and policy makers more involved in making childcare available.