February 12, 2025 - Claysburg, PA
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis joined local business leaders, parents and providers for a roundtable conversation at Sheetz's corporate support center in Claysburg to highlight the Shapiro-Davis Administration's 2025-26 proposed budget, which continues vital investments in childcare and early learning and includes a new proposal to address shortages in the childcare workforce. "The childcare workforce shortage hurts working families, and it hurts our economy, likely in the range of billions of dollars in lost earnings, productivity and revenue," said Lt. Gov. Davis, who is co-chair of the Early Learning Investment Commission (ELIC), a public-private partnership that brings together leaders to make recommendations and policy for early learning. "That's why our new proposed budget would fund $1,000 bonuses to recruit and retain childcare workers across the Commonwealth. These workers are caring for our most valuable resource - our children. Many of them are mothers, who are also trying to make ends meet for their own families. They work hard, and they deserve it.""The Lieutenant Governor and I know about this issue firsthand - our daughter, Harper, attends a wonderful childcare facility that we were incredibly fortunate to find," said Second Lady Holmes Davis. "We want working parents all across this Commonwealth to have the same access to affordable, high-quality care that we have, and we want every Pennsylvania child to have the same opportunities our daughter has - opportunities to learn, play and grow in a safe and loving environment."Roundtable Participants Include:Lieutenant Governor Austin A. DavisSecond Lady Blayre Holmes DavisSheetz EVP of People and Culture Stephanie DoliveiraBright Horizons Divisional VP Julie BeamLitte Sproutz Teacher Chelsey MorseSheetz Employee Relations Lauren HarrisBlair County Commissioner Laura O. Burke, Esq.Altoona Blair County Development Corporation - VP of Business Retention & Expansion Matt FoxBlair Companies President & CEO Phil Devorris
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