Statewide report aims to address child care challenges

Tennessee loses an estimated $2.6 billion each year because of inadequate child care, according to a new report from Tennesseans for Quality Early Education, a statewide nonprofit. The Child Care Advantage: 2026 Inaugural Report is a new report part of the nonprofit's Tennessee Business and Family Forum initiative aimed at addressing child care challenges across the state alongside employers. According to the report, 80% of working parents in the state describe work disruptions due to child care challenges, with 305,484 children in Tennessee under the age of six having two employed parents. For Tennessee's working parents of young children, child care often determines whether work is possible at all, with 72% saying they cannot afford to stop working. The report notes 37 of the state's 95 counties are designated child care deserts. "Child care has become a workforce issue for employers in every corner of Tennessee," Josh Brown, president and CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a press release from TQEE. "Businesses are competing for people and reliable child care can be the difference between an employee being able to show up, stay on the job and grow with a company. The Child Care Advantage gives employers something they have needed: concrete examples from Tennessee businesses and a practical way to think about what could work for their own workforce." The report looks at the child care strategies of 26 Tennessee employers and organizations, from small businesses and school systems to hospitals, manufacturers, professional firms and major corporations. The Child Care Advantage report identified six approaches based on workplace findings that can amp up employer-supported child care: navigation services that help employees find care, backup or emergency care providers, guaranteed or priority seats with existing providers, individual employer centers that provide child care, shared or consortium child care centers between employers, community partners or public entities, as well as tuition assistance, which can stand alone or be layered onto other strategies. Employer examples featured in the report range from Dollywood's combination of child care navigation and financial assistance to Truist's backup care benefit. Employer-supported centers are also available through Ballad Health, SRM Concrete and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, according to the report. Still, fewer than 15% of U.S. private-sector workers have access to an employer-provided child care benefit. In a 2026 survey distributed through local chambers of commerce, 98% said affordable, quality child care matters to workforce productivity. More than half, 54%, said a federal tax credit covering half the investment would make them likely to add or expand a child care benefit. The report examines the case for child care investment and the expanding set of public tools employers can use to stretch their investment, including Tennessee's forthcoming CareShareTN program, family-side child care assistance, state grant opportunities and the federal 45F Employer-Provided Child Care Credit. "Employers have many options to make a meaningful difference for their workforce," Blair Taylor, president and CEO of Tennesseans for Quality Early Education, said in the release. "What we found across Tennessee is that, while there is no one-size-fits-all answer, there is an on-ramp for almost every budget. The opportunity is to find the solution that fits your workforce, your community and your budget." The Tennessee Business and Family Forum is offering a Comprehensive Recommendation Report to employers at no cost, including a workforce needs assessment, tailored child care solution options, financial modeling and an ROI case. "Too often, an employer recognizes that child care is affecting recruitment, retention, attendance or productivity, but does not know where to begin," Taylor said. "Our goal with this report, and with the Tennessee Business and Family Forum, is to make that next step much easier." More information on the Child Care Advantage: 2026 Inaugural Report is available at TNBusinessAndFamily.org/child-care-advantage.