Broward County’s child care gaps aren’t just straining family budgets, they’re a drag on the workforce local businesses depend on, according to a new Florida Chamber Foundation report.
Of the 2,449 parents and caregivers surveyed, 63% identified cost as the biggest barrier to finding care, while 39% cited limited availability or waitlists. Another 846 said child care availability had affected their ability to work or attend school occasionally or frequently.
The Chamber hopes to ease that pressure. Its Broward County Early Learning Landscape Analysis and Roadmap, developed with Broward Workshop and the Early Learning Coalition of Broward County, makes an economic development case for doing so.
“Broward County’s business community has an important role to play in strengthening the early learning system that supports our workforce and economy,” said Broward Workshop Executive Director Kareen Boutros. “This report gives us a shared understanding of the challenges families and providers face and a practical starting point for action.”
That starting point isn’t bare ground. Broward County has 758 licensed providers and more than 89,000 licensed slots for children through age 12.
But licensed capacity doesn’t necessarily translate into a seat a family can use. The survey data points to staffing as one reason.
Nearly one-third of the 998 early educators surveyed said they had seriously considered leaving the field during the previous year, while 33% reported working a second job. Sixty percent of responding providers pay assistant teachers $15 an hour or less, and 74% of educators said higher wages would most improve retention.
“As I’ve repeatedly said, Broward County has more potential than many counties, but alignment is key,” said Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson. “If we fix early learning, we fix 1,000 other things. Broward County has many of the institutions and partnerships in place to lead in early learning, but the data shows that too many working families still cannot find or afford care that meets their needs. Strengthening childcare is an investment in today’s workforce and tomorrow’s talent pipeline. Employers, community leaders, educators, and public partners each have a role in turning Broward’s strong foundation into better outcomes for families and children.”
That future pipeline has room for improvement. Only 45% of Broward kindergartners met the readiness benchmark on the Fall 2025 assessment. Among Broward public-school kindergartners, the rate was 58% for children who completed Voluntary Prekindergarten, compared with 30% for children not found in state VPK records.
Affordability presents another challenge. Full-time infant care runs roughly $10,000 to $15,600 a year, according to provider-reported tuition. More than half of surveyed parents said they receive no financial assistance, and 40% were unaware assistance programs were available.
The roadmap encourages employers to share information about assistance programs, consider family-friendly scheduling and child care benefits, contribute to scholarship or workforce funds and explore whether they can use the Florida Child Care Tax Credit. It also recommends an annual Employer Child Care Roundtable and quarterly working sessions to connect businesses with providers, educators, philanthropy and public agencies.
Broader recommendations include increasing School Readiness funding alongside expanded eligibility, raising reimbursement rates for providers, strengthening behavioral and developmental supports and investing more in the early learning workforce.
“No family should have to choose between their career and their child’s early education,” said Early Learning Coalition of Broward County CEO Renee Jaffe. “Greater investment in early learning can help more families access the care they need and ensure every child has the strong start they deserve.”
