LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce said 100,000 women have left the child care workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Child care issues and school closures have caused the shortage, but a Louisville Metro councilwoman is hoping to change it.
Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong said there are areas of town that are child care deserts, particularly west and southwest Louisville.
"This was something I lived myself and it took me over a year to find day care for my oldest child," she said. "Child care centers are closing every day because of staffing shortages, and so anything we can do to support working families absolutely has to be a priority for our city."
Because of zoning in certain areas of Jefferson County, it can be difficult to start up a small, in-home day care.
"Right now, it's extremely difficult to have a child care center in a residential neighborhood," Chambers Armstrong said. "And so it used to be 10-15 years ago you could have child care center in a single-family zone area. We then changed that and made it impossible to do that."
Chambers Armstrong said that's when the city also started seeing a decline in in-home child care.
"What I'm hoping to do with this ordinance is take the restrictions off of this industry, make it so more providers can open in more spaces and better meet the needs of families," she said.
The Metro United Way said 45% of surveyed Kentucky parents had to quit a job, not take a job or change jobs due to a lack of child care. That means they lost income and potential earnings. Greater Louisville Inc. said the number of child care providers decreased by 8% since the start of the pandemic.
"We should be able to have child care near where we live and work and we should be able to do it in our residential area," Chambers Armstrong said.
Chambers Armstrong is hoping the ordinance passes in committee and can then be heard by the Metro Council next week. The Planning and Zoning Committee meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday.
While this would be a local ordinance, she said providers will still have to meet all th state's quality guidelines.
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