BRISTOL, PA, November 2025 – Governor Josh Shapiro, along with Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh and various legislative and community leaders, gathered at Children of God Educational Services in Bucks County to showcase the child care investments included in the 2025-26 budget that the Governor signed last week. These investments aim to help Pennsylvania recruit and retain child care workers, expand access to quality care, and enable more parents to stay in the workforce and provide for their families.
Pennsylvania’s child care industry is currently facing a shortage of 3,000 unfilled jobs. Filling these positions would allow providers to serve an additional 25,000 children. Many child care providers struggle with low wages, making it difficult to hire and retain qualified staff, which often leads to closed classrooms and families being turned away.
To tackle workforce shortages and expand child care availability, the 2025-26 budget establishes a $25 million Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program. This program will provide approximately $450 per employee, per year to licensed Child Care Works (CCW) providers. These bonuses are expected to support around 55,000 child care workers and help stabilize the sector…