Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Childcare Workforce topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local providers: staffing shortages and costs are limiting childcare slots across Bucks County
Summary
Providers at a Children First event said workforce shortages, rising benefits and insurance costs, and inadequate subsidy funding are forcing centers to cap enrollment and close classrooms. Lifespan School and Daycare reported hiring difficulties and turnover that restricts capacity; Children First said 977 children in the county are unserved due
Childcare providers and a Children First presentation on Oct. 27 described a countywide shortage of early-childhood staff that is limiting childcare access for families and constraining providers’ ability to expand.
Nicole Fetterman, executive director of Lifespan School and Daycare, said Lifespan operates 11 licensed locations in Bucks, Montgomery and Lehigh counties and is struggling to recruit and retain early-learning staff. Fetterman said wage competition from school districts, rising benefits costs and higher insurance premiums make hiring difficult for community-based providers. She said Lifespan’s turnover rate is about 15–20% and that the program frequently caps classrooms when staff are not available.
Why it matters: Children First cited a county report figure that 977 children in Bucks County are not being served because of staffing shortages. Providers said closures or capped classrooms have ripple effects — families miss work when caregivers are unavailable and children lose access to stable early-learning experiences that research links to later academic success.
Details from providers and the report
- Workforce and wages: Fetterman said early-childhood professionals typically earn far less than public-school starting salaries, which reduces retention; she described recruitment efforts including job fairs, apprenticeship ideas and partnerships with career-and-technical education programs.
- Subsidies and funding: Fetterman described relying on Pre-K Counts grants, Early Learning Resource Center subsidies and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. She said providers apply for multiple grants and that federal and state subsidies are critical to operations. She noted that insurance and other operating costs have recently forced increases in parent fees.
- Quality and compliance: Lifespan participates in Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS quality-rating system and operates multiple Star 4 locations, Fetterman said; she added that mandated staff-to-child ratios and compliance requirements limit the ability to temporarily reassign staff to cover shortages without reducing class sizes.
- Provider experience: Fetterman described daily operational strain — directors who must sometimes fill classroom roles because of gaps and the domino effect when a child gets sick. She gave an example of families living in crowded housing with trauma and other needs who rely on centers for stable care.
Attribution and limits
This article draws on remarks by Nicole Fetterman and the Children First presentation. The county-level number of children unserved (977) was provided in the Children First report cited at the event. Providers described program-level turnover and costs; precise center-by-center budgets were not provided in the session.
