State Chamber Testifies Child Care Aids Business

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Created on Friday, 07 February 2025 15:23

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By Sentinel Staff
    The director of the Alaska Chamber of Commerce urged lawmakers Wednesday to quickly reintroduce and pass the child care bill that passed last year but is currently tied up in legal challenges.
    The child care crisis is hurting the business sector in several ways, Katie Capozzi, president and CEO of the Alaska Chamber of Commerce, told the House Labor & Commerce Committee.
    “The lack of affordable and accessible child care is one of the greatest barriers to workforce participation in Alaska,” she said. “Employers across the state are ready to be partners in this effort, and we look forward to working with the Legislature to address this priority.”
    Capozzi was one of several business leaders and child care advocates who spoke to the committee about the critical need to address the state’s child care crisis, the House Majority Coalition said Thursday in a news release on the House Commerce committee hearing.
    In her testimony, Capozzi highlighted data showing the economic impact of the child care crisis, including the loss of $165 million per year in lost productivity and wages due to child care-related absences and turnover.
    She also said that the lack of affordable options disproportionately affects working parents, particularly women, with 19% of parents missing work and 12% choosing not to work due to child care issues.
    The committee heard from other child care advocates, including Rachel Byers, executive director of Little Bears Playhouse in Girdwood, and Pearl Brower, president and CEO of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation.
    “When you are successful, which I hope you will be,” Brower said, “your work will be impactful in so many ways, helping families and businesses across the state reach their full potential and continue to support a thriving Alaskan economy for many generations.”
    The Legislature passed Senate Bill 189 on the final day of the session in May. The law provides some $7.5 million in subsidies to improve access to and the affordability of child care. Capozzi told the committee Thursday that legislation, which had strong bipartisan support, “is currently tied up in legal challenges unrelated to its content.”