This commentary was featured in the Venice Gondolier on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
Kathy Lehner
President & CEO
Venice Area Chamber of Commerce
The cost of childcare is a challenge for employees. Two thirds of employers say that employees are struggling to find childcare.
The Venice Area Chamber of Commerce is participating in a Childcare Crisis Task Force with the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County and other local chambers in the region to help assess the childcare capacity crisis and its impact on our businesses.
To gain a better understanding of the impact on the recruitment and retainment of employees, the Early Learning Coalition Business Task Force constructed a short survey that the Chamber sent out to its members.
According to the survey, this Childcare Crisis is impacting business organizations through increased employee absenteeism, decreased productivity, increased employee turnover, the inability to recruit employees, and decreased revenue and or profits.
Access to childcare is the number one reason Floridians leave the workforce or change careers. It’s a startling statistic from a recent Florida Chamber of Commerce report that new legislation aims to change.
The Sunshine State is now offering a tax credit to businesses that invest in childcare. Investment opportunities are diverse and range from building a childcare center to offsetting the childcare costs for its employees who bring their children to a community-based early education provider.
Interested in learning more? Join the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce on Monday, Aug. 19 at 10:30 a.m. as we proudly host a free informational meeting here at the Chamber office at 597 S Tamiami Trail in Venice.
We are doing this in partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County and the nonprofit’s new Childcare Business Task Force. This meeting is designed to inform and educate local businesses on how they can tap into and take advantage of this tax credit.
The meeting will be spearheaded by bill sponsor Florida Representative Fiona McFarland. McFarland will break down the credit, explain who’s eligible and be on-hand to answer any questions.
We look forward to seeing you here, and hearing your thoughts so together we can help make a difference.
We hope to see you here at the Chamber.