During a White House event on expanding access to care and other supportive services workers need to train for and stay in good-paying jobs, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Commerce Department will co-host a first-of-its-kind National Child Care Innovation Summit later this year. The summit will be held in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

The event will bring together key public- and private-sector stakeholders to discuss the vital role of child care as economic infrastructure and work towards accessible, affordable, and high-quality child care. The program will highlight and explore child care solutions, including creative care models and policies, emerging employer approaches, and public-private partnerships that can help address the child care crisis. The Summit will encourage action by the private sector as a partner and force multiplier to the public sector in establishing child care as critical infrastructure.

“Access to affordable, quality child care is not a social issue – it’s an economic issue. If we’re to train and retain workers for 21^st century jobs, we need to provide them with the economic infrastructure they need to stay in those jobs and care for their families,” said Secretary Raimondo. “I’m excited to announce that the Department of Commerce will co-host this first-of-its-kind event to bring together lawmakers, private sector leaders, and non-profit representatives to identify solutions to help solve the child care crisis.”

Details on the National Child Care Innovation Summit will be made available in the following weeks.

A White House fact sheet on the Biden-Harris Administration’s progress toward providing care and other supportive services for workers is available here.