Today, the Early Learning Action Team and the City of Charleston held the Early Learning Summit at Trident Technical College.

As the region and business community are realizing the impact of a shortage in affordable, high-quality childcare, public and private sector organizations came together to share insights, discuss challenges and take steps toward identifying and overcoming issues around childcare.

The event featured speakers, presentations and breakout sessions to delve deeper into issues of quality, accessibility and affordability.

Celeste Granger, Senior Vice President of Programs and Initiative at the Chamber set the stage, highlighting the challenges our regions faces and the extensive impact it has on families and employers.

Bryan Derreberry, President and CEO of the Charleston Metro Chamber was joined by Carl Blackstone, President and CEO of the Columbia Chamber, for the Business Panel, moderated by the Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Scott Barhight.

Bryan and Carl shared their insight on childcare from the Chamber’s perspective, voicing their recognition of the challenges and the impact it has on caregivers, childcare providers and the business community.

Bryan’s Key Points

• The Metro Chamber Coalition, made up of chambers from Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, provides a united voice for working with legislators at the state level. In 2024, childcare is one of the top five priorities the coalition is lobbying for at the State House.
• To overcome the challenges of childcare, there isn’t a single solution. This will take many small solutions, working in unison, to create a measurable impact across the state.
• The Chamber’s People First initiative has identified High-Quality, Affordable Childcare as one of the issues that impacts residents and employers in the Charleston Metro. People First’s work within this realm will focus on solutions that impact both businesses and citizens.

Carl’s Key Points

• Childcare isn’t only a family issue; it’s a workforce issue. A large portion of people moving to South Carolina are coming to the state to retire. Childcare may not directly impact them, but it does impact the workforce that provides products and services to these new residents.
• Businesses thinking outside the box in regard to employee retention is critical, especially for blue-collar careers. Working from home is not an option for many of the workers, so providing childcare services, like Toyota is doing, can help keep this workforce going.
• Cycles of poverty are often perpetuated by a lack of childcare facilities. Often times, lower-income communities have a lack of childcare, leading to challenges in transportation to find childcare, which in turn can lead to employees struggling to gain or retain employment.

In addition to the Business Panel, the summit featured a data review of a study conducted in collaboration with the National League of Cities, the City of Charleston and Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative, which can be viewed HERE.

The afternoon closed out with the Trident United Way providing insight into the ALICE Framework and Childcare Cost, followed by the National League of Cities facilitating discussion between those in attendance.

Events such as the Regional Early Learning Summit are critical to the Chamber’s People First movement, as a collaborative effort is needed to make progress in the realm of childcare. The Chamber is looking forward to the end of 2024 and the start of the new year to share research findings and outline the next steps in shaping the legacy of childcare across the Lowcountry.