Early Childhood Crisis

Early Childhood – Grantmaking & Community Leadership Initiatives

The Early Childhood Crisis

The early childhood sector is in a crisis in the Lehigh Valley, which is negatively impacting our children, families, and communities, in ways that ripple out across our economy. Pennsylvania has an annual cost of $6.65 billion. Addressing this crisis is a vital economic investment, affecting labor force participation, financial burdens on families, and children’s learning outcomes. Key issues include disparities in educator salaries, a lack of an educator pipeline due to lower pay and limited professional growth opportunities, and unsustainable business models for childcare centers. If this issue is left unaddressed, there will be continued closures of childcare programs, parents will be forced to leave the workforce, increased family poverty and local business closures, and rise in illegal childcare centers and children left home alone.  

Consider the following key statistics from 38 childcare providers in Lehigh and Northampton Counties:  

• 93 closed childcare classrooms 
• 156 unfilled staff positions 
• 1,014 additional children could be served if programs were fully staffed 
• 6,302 children who are eligible to receive high-quality publicly funded pre-k services are without access due to staffing and classroom shortages.   

LVCF’s Initiatives and Impact

In 2023-2024, LVCF made significant strides in implementing long-term strategies in coordination and convening, grant distribution, and raising awareness that will address the childcare crisis.   

Coordination and Convening:  

• LVCF staff serves as the backbone convenor of the Early Childhood Action Collaborative, a Lehigh Valley Coalition that is working towards systemic change in the early childhood sector. In our role as a backbone, LVCF is working in partnership with nonprofits, policymakers, advocates, and community to identify and implement action across four focus areas that align with our priories and will make significant improvements to the sector.   

• LVCF was a key partner in the City of Allentown’s Recompete Plan proposal submission process, which was recently awarded a federal grant of $20 million to address employment barriers in the city’s most distressed neighborhoods.  LVCF’s Megan Briggs, Vice President of Community Investments, led a group of community partners and stakeholders in developing the part of the plan that seeks to improve access to quality childcare. By enhancing childcare services, the plan aims to fund services that support families and those working in childcare services to facilitate better job opportunities for residents and contribute to the overall well-being and economic growth of the Lehigh Valley.  

• Raising awareness: LVCF is steadfastly committed to raising awareness and mobilizing support around early childhood needs as part of our leadership role. In our role as the backbone convenor of the Early Childhood Action Collaborative, LVCF staff has helped raise awareness about the early childhood crisis and possible solutions among policymakers, business representatives, LVCF fundholders, and partners. LVCF also connects with other community foundations around the state to join state-wide efforts in advocating for necessary change in the early childhood sector.  

• Grantmaking: LVCF distributes nearly $200,000 annually in general operating grants to area nonprofits that deliver early childhood services. Read more information about LVCF’s Early Childhood Grantmaking Cycle here.  

Download the Fact Sheet PDF

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