WASHINGTON, March 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Monday, March 25, ahead of the SBA’s third annual Women’s Business Summit, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, hosted the SBA’s first-ever Child Care Conference.

In the morning, Administrator Guzman attended a private breakfast and conversation with leaders in the child care industry hosted by the Public Private Strategies Institute at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Following the breakfast event, Administrator Guzman participated in a fireside chat, where she discussed the importance of child care infrastructure for a thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem, how child care gaps can hurt small business owners, and what the Biden-Harris Administration is doing to remedy this nationwide challenge.

Afterward, Administrator Guzman, White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein convened a child care roundtable with small business owners, SBA resource partners and lenders, and other business and philanthropic leaders. Administrator Guzman discussed her vision for improving the child care ecosystem, including new SBA resources for entrepreneurs in the care economy.

Employers lose $23 billion a year to child care challenges faced by employees, and more than 70% of working caregivers report that better child care would increase their productivity. The Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized tackling the structural issues negatively impacting the childcare sector, including low wages for workers, high costs for families, and inadequate supply of high-quality care. The President also signed a historic Executive Order in April 2023 directing nearly every cabinet-level agency to expand access to affordable, high-quality care and provide increased support for care workers and family caregivers.  

For follow-up interview requests for Administrator Guzman, please contact Teddy Lake at theodora.lake@sba.gov.

Christine Saah-Nazer
U.S. Small Business Administration
202-756-0304
christine.saahnazer@sba.gov

Han Nguyen
U.S. Small Business Administration
202-756-0304
han.nguyen@sba.gov