Success Story: Treating Childcare as Economic Infrastructure

For years, communities have recognized that childcare affects working families. The Taney County Partnership and Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce recognized something more: childcare is also a workforce and economic development issue.

Together with business, nonprofit, philanthropic, and community partners, they launched a regional initiative to strengthen the childcare ecosystem across Stone and Taney Counties, MO. By combining data analysis, stakeholder collaboration, and innovative funding strategies, the partnership builds a long-term action plan designed to expand access to affordable, high-quality childcare while strengthening the regional workforce.

Childcare is a particularly precious resource in a region where only 18% of local infants and toddlers had access to childcare and many families spent more than 25% of their household income on care — well above the widely accepted affordability benchmark of 7%. As costs rose and available slots declined, more parents left the workforce, reducing the local labor pool.

Working with employers, chambers of commerce, churches, and philanthropic organizations, the partnership developed a community-driven action plan focused on expanding childcare capacity, reducing costs for families, and building a stronger pipeline of childcare professionals. Key strategies include implementing a tri-share funding model, which combines employer, public, and philanthropic support to reduce childcare costs by 10% to 70%, and in some cases eliminate costs altogether for qualifying families.

The Results

Although implementation is ongoing, the initiative has already changed how the region approaches workforce development. The project has aligned diverse organizations around a shared economic development strategy, generated new funding partnerships, and sparked efforts to reduce permitting and licensing barriers that limit the expansion of childcare providers.

As additional childcare capacity comes online, more parents will be able to remain in — or return to — the workforce, helping employers address hiring challenges while increasing household spending power and supporting long-term economic growth.

Perhaps most importantly, the initiative has created a roadmap for building a stronger early childhood system that benefits children, families, employers, and the regional economy alike.

Takeaways for Economic Development Professionals

Stone and Taney Counties offer several lessons for communities facing workforce shortages:

• Recognize childcare as economic infrastructure. Expanding childcare access strengthens labor force participation, talent attraction, and business growth.
• Lead with local data. Quantifying childcare shortages and affordability challenges helps build support across sectors.
• Bring diverse partners to the table. Employers, chambers, nonprofits, philanthropies, and public agencies each have a role in creating sustainable solutions.
• Explore innovative funding models. Shared investment strategies can reduce costs for families while expanding access and provider capacity.
• Think beyond today's workforce. Investing in early childhood systems supports long-term talent development and improves quality of place.