The state's largest pro-business lobby, has a formula for getting more workers in the state labor force.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has completed a series of reports that finds that if Kentucky parents had greater access and less income going toward childcare, it could be $1 billion economic boost to the state.

The group examined the connection between the cost of childcare and workforce participation rates, which is currently the eighth lowest in the country.

Chamber representatives say a greater push for programs like the Employee Childcare Assistance Partnership, set up two years ago, could help with that program.

The government matches a portion of employer paid childcare costs for their workers.

Kate Shanks with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, stopped by our studios last week to tell us what policy ideas could come from the recent findings.

Kate Shanks, thank you so much for coming on.

Talking about childcare, this is an issue that the chamber has been very involved in for a very, very long time.

So childcare is one of our top issues.

Top issue of the 2026 legislative session.

It is one of the top strategic goals that our board of directors handed us when they did.

There are three year strategic plan.

So there's a reason that the chamber is focusing.

So much on this.

It is recognized as a barrier to work.

And as you know, the chamber is always focused on workforce issues.

Growing our workforce.

It's critical for growing our economy.

And we've identified childcare as one of those unfortunate barriers access to childcare as well as cost.

And so we actually led the charge on the Kentucky Collaborative for childcare, and we started this group back last October.

But this has really been in the making since the 2024 legislative session.

And we ended up with a report with 37 recommendations on how we can strengthen the childcare system in Kentucky, build a foundation, expand the network of 2000 plus childcare centers and facilities across Kentucky, and really support our growing workforce in our growing economy.

And that is what we've been focusing on this the summer, this interim, with an eye on the 2026 legislative session.

And we spoke about it in committee yesterday.

We had folks from the collaborative join us at the table.

We summarized some of the recommendations, and we talked a little bit about the research that we did to demonstrate to the legislature if we can reduce the cost of childcare, this is how many people we can get back into the workforce.

That was one of the reports.

Another report we did was here's where the childcare gaps are across Kentucky.

We looked at our potential need for childcare, around 200,000 spots.

We looked at how much childcare we have in Kentucky, and we found a gap of about 56,000.

Wow.

And we were able to show across the Commonwealth where those gaps are.

And so it was here's the plan on how we're going to how we're going to I don't wanna say fix the problem, but how we're going to start to build the foundation to fix the problem.

Here's what will happen if we do that.

And here's what the problem is.

And so that's what the three reports together, really kind of kind of summarize for policymakers.

So from the report about the the access issue and the dearth of childcare providers and facilities, we've always heard that, right.

We've heard about childcare deserts.

And it's not just in eastern Kentucky.

We know that Louisville, Jefferson County has Todd Carr.

Deserts is it as vast as that, or are there geographic areas where the problem is more severe than others?

Right.

That's one of the big takeaways of that report.

It is not an urban or rural issue.

It is across the Commonwealth.

Of course, Jefferson County has a sizable gap.

You have a big population there.

So you're going to see that spike on the chart when we look at it by county.

But if you look out and you look at congressional districts, it's a bigger region of the state, eastern Kentucky and House district five, there is there is there are gaps there as well.

So you see them in the rural parts of state.

You see them in the urban parts of the state.

I mean, the challenges are pretty wide and pretty significant.

It's pretty much a conservative estimate.

There's more research that needs to be done.

But you're right.

We were talking about these gaps.

We know they're there.

We can feel them.

Families can feel them.

Employers tell me I have employees that drive 45 minutes to access child care.

Of the 37 recommendations, how many will we see in any piece of legislation or pieces of legislation next year?

So it is certainly not just for the Kentucky General Assembly.

The 37 recommendation is bring in philanthropy, nonprofit employers.

We've narrowed it down to top eight or so recommendations.

And there's there's specifics around data, making sure we're tracking the issues or specifics around the employee childcare assistance partnership, maintaining programs we already have on the books, and making sure that we're funding them as we have in the past, how we can support community driven efforts, employer driven efforts.

There were some changes made at the federal level.

And the, one big, beautiful bill related to incentives for employers that invest in child care.

So there are opportunities for us to add to that and leverage those, those resources, and ultimately ensuring that we're providing the resources for families, communities and employers to take advantage of.

So I do expect a bill we did hear, the chair of the committee, Representative Samia, have Rand say I'm bringing legislation.

So we look forward to working with her and others who championed this issue in the General Assembly.

And Danny Carroll.

Senator Danny Carroll has been one who's been very interested in this topic for a very interested in the Senate.

But I think you're going to find many legislators, want to be involved in it and helpful in it.

I mean, you're hearing from folks back home and constituents, most legislators are parents themselves and have experienced this as well.

And so I think that you're going to see a lot of work done on it in the upcoming session.

And, and we told the General Assembly, we're going to work on this.

We're going to gather everybody together, form this consensus document and bring you something that we think it's going to be workable in the upcoming session.

And so we're delivering on that.

Yeah.

Well we'll follow it through the session for sure.

Kate Shanks, thank you so much.

Thank you.