Hamilton County releases Child Care Action Plan

Research shows more than 9,000 seats needed over next decade

Throughout 2024, with support from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) and MIBOR, Invest Hamilton County engaged hundreds of local residents, businesses, and stakeholders in the development of a Child Care Action and Investment Plan.

The goals of the project were to help identify gaps, quantify the impact of child care on residents, and build a plan to guide solutions.

Research, conducted by TPMA, showed that in 2024 Hamilton County was 4,644 seats behind demand across the community and needs to establish 9,405 seats by 2034 to meet community demand. This demand will only be met by developing and attracting approximately 1,500 additional child care workers.

The lack of quality and accessible child care has led to 2,339 “work-willing” parents in Hamilton County who would return to the workforce if their need could be addressed. These parents returning to the workforce has the potential to generate $242 million to $316 million in annual economic impact.

Thibideau

“Seeing in this research how often parents were willing to relocate to find child care and how often they left jobs or reduced hours because of access showcases the impact this challenge has on our residents,” Invest Hamilton County President and CEO Mike Thibideau said. “It also presents a tremendous opportunity for talent and corporate attraction if we can develop solutions. Sixty-seven percent of businesses surveyed said that when considering new hires, reliable child care or pre-K is raised as a concern by the candidate.”

In 2025, guided by this planning process, Invest Hamilton County and other key community partners will be establishing a child care-focused coalition and within the next few months will identify a staffing solution to build boots on the ground capacity. Other key action items over the next few years include the development of career pathways, establishing a county-wide joint services hub for childcare providers, identifying creative methods for subsidizing costs and supporting a “no-wrong-door” approach that increases the capacity of home-based, faith-based, and center-based care across the county.

The full action and investment plan can be found at this link.