Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
In August, The Washington Post highlighted “the two reasons Americans aren’t having babies”: the rising cost of raising children, especially child care, and the lack of time and support for families. It’s a sobering, data-driven look at a national challenge with very real local consequences. If New Orleans and southeast Louisiana want to thrive, we must stabilize and grow our workforce. That starts with ensuring families can find and afford high-quality child care and early childhood education. We pride ourselves on being remarkable, unique and welcoming. We are built to host — not only major events, but everyday life. Yet even the best-run operation can’t function without reliable workers. When child care falls through, shifts go uncovered, projects stall and customers wait. In Louisiana, businesses lose an estimated $816 million annually from absenteeism and turnover tied to child care breakdowns, with ripple effects of roughly $1.1 billion across the state economy. Those aren’t abstract figures; they show up as missed revenue, overtime costs and stalled growth for employers of every size. Child care is a workforce issue. Reliable care keeps employees on the job, while quality early education from birth to age four boosts kindergarten readiness and long-term success. At a time when national literacy rates are slipping, Louisiana is seeing gains — thanks in part to stronger early childhood investments. In the long run, high-quality early education fuels the talent pipeline for our hospitals, shipyards, studios, hotels, labs and logistics hubs. That’s why, during my time in the Legislature, I championed the creation of the Early Childhood Education Fund. For New Orleans, the fund is transformative: Every dollar we raise locally through our early childhood property tax — about $21 million a year — is matched by the state, doubling the impact for families. The return on that investment is clear: Parents get to work, and children get a strong start in school. But the opportunity doesn’t stop with the government. Businesses themselves can step up — at no cost — through Louisiana’s School Readiness Tax Credits. These 100% refundable state tax credits allow companies to contribute up to $5,000 a year to their local Child Care Resource & Referral agency. The state then reimburses every dollar. CCR&Rs, like Agenda for Children here in Orleans and 10 neighboring parishes, invest those funds in teacher retention incentives, classroom upgrades, curriculum support and other tools that directly improve child care quality and early educational opportunities. Even nonprofits and businesses with no tax liability can participate and receive the full refund. Here’s the bottom line: We can keep wringing our hands about labor shortages, or we can invest in the infrastructure that keeps parents on the job today and prepares their children to succeed tomorrow. Quality early childhood education is not only how New Orleans remains a great place to live, work and visit — it’s how southeast Louisiana competes for talent and opportunity in the decades ahead.
