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Louisiana Public Square: Have childcare issues affected your job?

Airs Sunday, February 4, 2018, at 6 p.m. It’s estimated that issues with early childhood education cost the state economy more than $1 billion per year. Business professionals and politicians agree that there is a severe lack of access to high-quality child care in the state. But with the state facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, can funds be found to make this a priority?

     
Louisiana School Finder, a first-of-its-kind performance guide on early care and education centers is a useful tool for parents seeking care for their children. Can it also be a mechanism to improve performance? Louisiana Public Square looks for answers to these questions and more on “Early Education Matters.”      
 
Our panelists are:
•  Melanie Bronfin, La. Policy Institute for Children
•  Rep. Stephen Carter, R-Baton Rouge; Education Committee
•  Stephen Waguespack, La. Assoc. of Business & Industry
•  Supt. John White, La. Dept. of Education
     
Barry Erwin, CEO of the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL) will moderate the discussion. The program includes interviews with Belinda Creel Davis, Ph.D., with the LSU Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs and co-author of the Losing Ground study on childcare issues and job productivity; Melinda George, Child Care Assistance Manager with the La. Dept. of Education; Brigitte Nieland, V.P. of Workforce and Education for the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI): and Shawanda Jefferson, a mother whose  improved employment status has put her Child Care Assistance Program benefits in jeopardy.