Moore County Chamber announces new board members

The Moore County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Partners for Children and Families, has released a survey to collect feedback from the community on caregiving responsibilities. This survey is designed to learn more about childcare needs or other needs, such as caring for a disabled or elderly family member and how it may impact someone in the workforce. 

Since February 2022, the Moore County Chamber of Commerce Childcare Task Force has been meeting to address the issue of childcare in our community.

The purpose of this Task Force is to discuss the topics impacting childcare here in Moore County while also finding solutions.

This Task Force has reviewed successful models from across the state and country, hosted meetings with childcare providers to learn what challenges they are experiencing in the industry, have spoken with the educational community to develop ways to increase the number of participants seeking an early childhood education and has been actively involved with monitoring legislative activities impacting the area of childcare.

The Task Force felt the next logical step was to survey the community to help identify the specific challenges impacting our employees regarding caring for children or other family members.

“High-quality, affordable, and accessible childcare has a significant impact on the economic growth and competitiveness of our companies and County,” said Linda Parsons, president and CEO of the Moore County Chamber. “Our nation and state are experiencing childcare challenges that impact the productivity and strength of the workforce of today — as well as the quality of the workforce of tomorrow.”

This anonymous survey will provide key data to help continue developing plans to support employees, employers, and the childcare industry here in Moore County. This survey tool will provide the employees with a voice to share their challenges so the community can find effective solutions to support them in the future. 

To complete this survey Click Here or visit https://ncpartnership.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_23qyKYOWSDNhrzU

“In most families, it is no longer the case that one parent works and one stays home. However, quality childcare can be difficult to find and/or afford. Growing research shows that high quality early learning programs deliver both short and long-term benefits for children and the community. Supporting emotional and cognitive development lays the critical foundation in the early years that is necessary for success in school and beyond.” Parsons stated. 

Because we understand the need for and importance of early childhood education, the Moore County Chamber of Commerce Childcare Task Force is committed to collecting data to understand the impact of childcare affordability and availability. This includes learning more about care’s impact on the workforce, businesses, and the economy, as well as learning best practices and practical advice.

Stuart Mills, the executive director of Partners for Children & Families, commented that “The Moore County Chamber of Commerce is to be commended for its leadership on this important issue. The Chamber has assembled an influential group of Moore County leaders to delve deeply into the crisis in caregiving — we are considering practical data-driven solutions that work for Moore County. The data derived from this survey will be particularly helpful, and we encourage employers to promote the survey and employees to complete the survey.”

The Moore County Chamber would like those that are actively employed or have dropped out of the workforce for childcare-related reasons to take part in the survey. The business community is encouraged to distribute the survey to their employees or via social media to ensure as much data as possible is collected. 

Contributed.

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