Governor Josh Shapiro Aiming to Make Childcare More Affordable Across Pa.

– Joanne Bauer, Explore Clarion, 2/21/25

"Governor Josh Shapiro and Lt. Governor Austin Davis recently hosted a roundtable at the YMCA Child Development Center at Duquesne University to highlight the Governor’s 2025-26 proposed budget, which builds on his efforts to make child care more accessible and affordable.

Over the past two years, Governor Shapiro has taken steps to lower child care costs, and this year’s budget proposal focuses on expanding the child care workforce to ensure more Pennsylvania families can access the care they need.

Governor Shapiro, Lt. Governor Davis, Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis, and key stakeholders, including President of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh Amy Kienle, CEO of Partner4Work Robert Cherry, child care workers and teachers, and parents participated in the roundtable.

Leadership from the Greater Pittsburgh YMCA, Duquesne University, Early Learning Investment Commission (ELIC), and the General Assembly also attended. The discussion focused on the Governor’s proposed budget investments to address workforce challenges, reduce costs, and increase access to quality child care for Pennsylvania families.

The 2025-26 budget proposal builds on Governor Shapiro’s first two budgets with a $55 million investment in workforce recruitment and retention grants to increase child care availability and pay these dedicated workers more.

These grants would provide an additional $1,000 annually per employee working in licensed child care centers in the Child Care Works (CCW) Program. Since taking office, Governor Shapiro has expanded the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit, delivering $136 million in savings to over 218,000 families, and created the Employer Child Care Contribution Tax Credit to help businesses contribute to employees’ child care costs. These initiatives have been key in helping to make child care more affordable for families all across the Commonwealth."