Exploring the American Workforce’s Post Pandemic Childcare Challenges

Childcare in the U.S. has long been a challenge for parents, children, and workers, a situation that’s become even more dysfunctional in the era of Covid-19.

According to data from the Center for American Progress, nearly 50% of Americans live in a “childcare desert,” with no licensed childcare providers, or demand that’s three times higher than the care available. And the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development deems just 10% of existing facilities as high-quality.

What’s at stake? The educational future of our country’s children and equitable pay for childcare workers, currently paid low wages comparable to a fast-food worker’s salary.

Host Daniel Litwin, the voice of B2B at MarketScale, was joined by Tom Callahan, Founder of Child Care Seer, to talk about the insufficiencies in U.S. childcare and how “The Child Care for Working Families Act,” which President Biden’s administration recently introduced to the Senate, is striving to upend the status quo.

 

“Childcare has a huge impact on how we prepare young minds for their future career and participation in our country,”

 

In addition to founding Child Care Seer, a childcare operations and administrative platform offering powerful scheduling and cost management tools and analytics, Callahan is also the owner of Callahan Learning Center, a Virginia-based childcare management company with two centers in the state. “A key part of our business is focusing on education and growing children, not just watching children,” he said. And there are plenty of reasons why.

Callahan explained that high-quality childcare not only nurtures young minds; it can have far-reaching effects that impact our society. “When a child goes to kindergarten and feels smart and fully prepared, they’re treated a certain way, and they sort of rise to that expectation,” he said. “Sadly, I think the opposite is also true. If they don’t sit still and haven’t been taught the fundamentals things from a good preschool teacher, they struggle that first year. They feel inadequate and feel lesser.”

Though some children excel despite their poor educational start, they’re the exception to the rule, he explained. “Childcare has a huge impact on how we prepare young minds for their future career and participation in our country,” he said.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

podcast
The DisruptED Journey with Tim Maitland at MarketScale (Episode Three)
January 15, 2026

Storytelling is changing fast, shaped by new platforms, shifting audiences, and a growing demand for authenticity. What started as traditional podcasting has evolved into community-driven ecosystems built on real voices and lived experience. In this landscape, storytelling isn’t just content—it’s a way to build connection, spark engagement, and drive meaningful change. When done well,…

Read More
education
The DisruptED Journey with Tim Maitland at MarketScale (Episode Two)
January 15, 2026

Education is at a crossroads. As AI, online learning, and workforce demands rapidly reshape how people gain skills, long-standing gaps in access and outcomes remain a major concern in Michigan. Recent reporting on the 2025 State of Education and Talent shows Michigan has fallen to its lowest ever ranking in per capita income, underscoring…

Read More
Ron Stefanski
The DisruptED Journey with Tim Maitland at MarketScale (Episode One)
January 15, 2026

Education doesn’t change in neat, predictable cycles—it shifts when people start asking better questions. Over the past several years, those questions have become louder and more urgent, driven by workforce disruption, new technologies, and a growing demand for learning that actually prepares people for real life. At the same time, media itself has evolved, favoring…

Read More
supporting parents
Supporting Parents Is a Business Strategy: A CFO’s Perspective on Retention, Trust, and Long-Term Growth
January 14, 2026

Workplace flexibility has shifted from a culture debate to a retention lever—especially as more professionals are becoming parents later, right when they’re stepping into mid-management and executive-track roles. Childcare and caregiving logistics don’t just strain families; they strain talent pipelines, and the companies that treat parenting as a “personal issue” are often the same…

Read More