20 stories for 20 years: Childcare is a small business issue

Access to childcare isn’t a concern that’s limited to parents—it’s also a business issue. Across the country, small business owners and their employees struggle to find and afford quality childcare, forcing too many caregivers to choose between their jobs and their families. In fact, according to Small Business Majority’s 2024 national poll, 58% of entrepreneurs report that childcare challenges have made it harder to start their business, while 59% say these challenges have slowed their growth. For more than one in four, the impact was even more severe and they were forced to close their business altogether. 

It’s not just owners who are affected. Nearly all small business employers have workers with children, and when those employees struggle to find care, businesses lose productivity, revenue, and sometimes valuable team members. In fact, 62% of small employers say they’ve dealt with unplanned absences due to childcare issues, while nearly a third have had an employee quit over it.

Small Business Majority is working to change that. We’re engaging our network of more than 85,000 small businesses to advocate for bold childcare solutions and inclusive paid family leave policies that level the playing field for small employers. Our efforts include educating business owners about available benefits, supporting childcare providers, many of whom are women of color and immigrants operating on thin margins, and building coalitions to push for policies that expand access to affordable, high-quality care. 

In Colorado, for example, nearly half of residents live in “childcare deserts,” where demand far outstrips supply. Just 19% of infants and toddlers have access to licensed care. Parents are left with few options: cut work hours, turn down promotions, or leave the workforce altogether. For small business owners, whether they need care themselves or provide it, these challenges are more than personal. They’re economic roadblocks. That’s why Small Business Majority has spent years working to close resource and funding gaps for childcare providers who are also small business owners. Beginning in 2019, along with community partners we facilitated trainings in Northwest Aurora, Colo. The end goal was to start a childcare purchasing cooperative to eliminate the childcare desert in that community. From there, we met a remarkable group of family home childcare providers who were members of the Colorado Association of Family Child Care (CAFCC). Thanks to our collaboration with CAFCC, we have gained extensive knowledge of what it means to be a childcare provider, as well as a greater understanding of the structural challenges that exist for these types of businesses. We also had the opportunity to coach CAFCC to help them hone their own policy skills, empowering them to become one of the most important voices on childcare in Colorado politics. 

Thanks in part to our experience with CAFCC, we’ve expanded our national childcare policy work. One example was our support for the Child Care Stabilization Act of 2023, which would have provided $16 billion in investment for childcare centers nationwide to replace expiring COVID-19-era funding. As part of our push to advance that legislation, we wrote letters to Congress and spoke at a press conference alongside lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Although the bill ultimately failed, Congress did eventually approve some additional childcare funding in 2024.

Of course, we never do our work alone – and childcare policy is no exception. Among the entrepreneurs who have taken center stage in our efforts to help ensure better childcare access for small businesses is Janna Rodriguez. Janna owns a childcare business in Freeport, New York, and is also a member of Small Business Majority’s National Small Business Council. Janna has participated in a number of advocacy activities over the years, including meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington. 

Voices like Janna’s are absolutely critical when advocating for better childcare policies. Because when families have the care they need, small businesses can focus on what they do best - innovating, hiring and growing.