What Keeps California’s Businesses Open?

Over 20 California business leaders speak out about the “make it or break it” effect of child care on the sector and larger economy.

LOS ANGELES, CA – California business leaders are taking to social media to talk about an overlooked solution that helps them recruit and retain employees, maintain productivity, and serve their communities: child care. A group of local governments, chambers, associations, and businesses—including City of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach, UNITE-LA, and Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation—has partnered with the child care advocacy campaign A Golden State For Kids this week, October 19–23, for the second annual Child Care Backs My Biz Week: Open For Business.

October’s inflation and retail-sales reports fail to reflect how child care affects businesses, big and small. The lack of reliable child care for working parents of children under age 3 is estimated to cost California’s economy $23 billion annually in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue. For small and midsize businesses in particular, child care challenges can make it harder to keep experienced employees, fill open positions, and sustain growth.

“Child care is essential infrastructure for a strong and inclusive economy,” said Abigail R. Marquez, City of Los Angeles Community Investment Department General Manager. “When parents have access to reliable, affordable child care, they can pursue employment, build their careers, and contribute to our economy. At the same time, businesses are better positioned to attract and retain talent, maintain productivity, and grow. Investing in child care means investing in our workforce, our businesses, and the long-term economic vitality of Los Angeles.”

Every open sign means workers are showing up for their shifts—that parents can pursue their careers and employers can count on their teams. Yet when child care is unavailable or unaffordable, families face difficult choices and businesses feel the consequences through missed shifts, employee turnover, and lost productivity.

Throughout the week, A Golden State For Kids and its business partners will share their own stories on social media about what child care makes possible for their employees, operations, and bottom lines. Under this year’s theme, Open For Business, the campaign is connecting the everyday realities of running a business with the reliable child care that makes it possible for millions of parents and caregivers to participate in the workforce.

“Businesses count on roads, utilities, and broadband—child care belongs alongside them as essential infrastructure,” said Cristina Alvarado, executive director of the Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles and leader of A Golden States For Kids. “It’s what gets a shift staffed on time and keeps a skilled employee in the job instead of stepping away. Child care keeps business doors open, but it has to be more readily accessible.”

Last year, Child Care Backs My Biz Week reached more than 380,000 Californians and engaged more than 10 business partners through A Golden State For Kids founding partner and economic mobility intermediary UNITE-LA. This year, UNITE-LA has continued expanding the campaign’s reach across new industries and communities, building on the growing recognition that child care is not just a family issue—it is a business issue:

“Building a stronger child care system requires the business community to be part of the solution,” said Sonia Campos-Rivera, Senior Vice President of Education Policy and Public Affairs at UNITE-LA.

“Employers bring an important perspective on the needs of working
families and the realities of today’s labor market. Advocating alongside child care providers, community leaders, and policymakers is in every business’s best interest. When more parents can participate in the workforce and build their careers, we strengthen economic mobility for families and the region as a whole.”

California businesses interested in adding their voice to Child Care Backs My Biz Week can learn about the different ways to join and support A Golden State For Kids at www.agoldenstateforkids.org/openforbusiness.

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About A Golden State for Kids

A Golden State For Kids brings together families, providers, child advocacy organizations, and businesses to build demand for accessible child care. Led by the Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles in partnership with Children Now, Crystal Stairs, Inc., UNITE-LA, and The Children’s Partnership, the campaign works with partners to improve access to child care in Los Angeles and throughout the state. A Golden State For Kids is funded by the Stein Early Childhood Development Fund with support from California Community Foundation.

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Additional Partner Videos & Quotes Available For Use

Dr. Noel Hacegaba, CEO Port of Long Beach	“To get to work each day, many of our teammates are parents who turn to child care professionals. And just like the families they serve, the child care specialists also have a role in ensuring that imports and exports make it to their destination and that the economy keeps moving. All throughout the waterfront and supply chain workforce are parents who need to get to work each day and rely on child care to make that happen.”
Antonia Castro, Program Manager VSEDC	“I have an 11-year old boy with Down Syndrome, and so child care to me is even more of a challenge because not everyone is equipped to take care of a child with a disability. And so when you do have child care available, it’s such a great resource so I can go ahead and be the best version for my son.”
Alex Matias, Vice President, Operations and Engagement Children Now	“We’ve had the benefit to spend quality bonding time with our son and daughter, thanks to family leave policies at the state level and to flexibility on the part of our employer. It’s important for our elected officials to continue to push to ensure that there’s quality, affordable child care made available to working and middle class families across the state—because when our kiddos are supported, we’re able to better show up not just in our homes, but also in our communities.”
Roberto Arnold, Chairman & Founder California Multicultural Business Alliance	“At the California Multicultural Business Alliance, we run programs, workshops, and member support that depend on people showing up consistently and being able to focus. When a parent has reliable care, they’re not choosing between their paycheck and their child’s safety; they can be present, prepared, and productive.”
Haley Marting, Director of Communications San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce	“Child care access is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a retention tool. When working parents struggle to find care, employers then struggle to keep people in the workforce. These are not separate issues, they’re connected. When care falls through, talent walks out the door.”
Diana Ordaz-Cherrington, President Southern California Healthcare Advocacy Coalition	“Affordable, dependable childcare is a healthcare issue. When child care is reliable, families can actually follow through on care, and the systems we put in place have a chance to work. I also see the other side: people delay care because they can’t leave work early and they can’t afford a sitter.”