BRISTOL, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Josh Shapiro visited a child care facility in Bristol on Wednesday to highlight new recruitment and retention bonuses for child care workers in the commonwealth.
As Pennsylvania faces a child care workforce crisis, with 3,000 unfilled jobs, the 2025-26 state budget secures $25 million for a new child care retention and recruitment program that will provide a bonus to licensed child care workers. Shapiro said the allotment is a first in more than 20 years since pre-K counts began, and child care now has its own dedicated line item in the state budget.
“This isn’t something I’m hopeful for. This isn’t something that is aspirational. This is something we got done,” said Shapiro. “This is law in Pennsylvania, and people are benefiting from that hard work. And it represented a huge step forward when it comes to affording child care…