Specifications include, but are not limited to: The selected firm will utilize existing data to inform employers, key stakeholders, and elected officials of the true impact the lack of reliable childcare is having on the regional economy’s ability to meet its workforce needs and present the potential return-on-investment for the adoption and implementation of a model to fund and provide affordable childcare. This will include modeling lost wages and vacancies as part of a broader review of the impact lack of childcare has on the workforce and the regional economy. The selected consultant will independently assess the potential positive economic impact (vis-à-vis parents/guardians returning to the labor force) of improved access to affordable childcare in the region. The selected firm will determine who will exit the workforce because of cost-prohibitive childcare costs. This should include strategies, suggestions, and best practice recommendations to improve childcare access in the five-county GADD region. GADD reserves the right to include additional project elements in the initial or subsequent agreements as deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors. The firm will be expected to coordinate and cooperate fully with designated GADD personnel and/or a regional steering committee.
