FRANKFORT, Ky.-- The struggle for many Kentuckians to find affordable, quality child care impacts businesses, according to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber describes the issue as one that factors in a company's choice whether to do business in the Bluegrass.

When parents decide to stay home with their kids, Burton says it shows in the workforce. He uses 2016 for example, when he says 200 million people left the workforce for child care reasons. 

"We're seeing a situation where we have more jobs available than workers to fill them," says Burton, "if you are missing work because you don’t have access to child care, that’s a disruption to daily operations. When you look at the bottom line for businesses, it’s about a $3 billion hit to revenue annually- just daily disruptions to child care.”

Parents in areas with a real lack of access to care for their children while at work, like in parts of Eastern Kentucky, are grateful for the rare early learning centers that do exist. However, they're hoping there can be more, in solution to the problem that persists. “I know that there are mothers that don’t know where they’re going to put their infant child when they come back from maternity leave," says parent Kristin Collins.

The Governor's Office of Early Childhood is aware of the issue and promises to be working toward solutions. Executive Director Linda Hampton says the office recently received a grant to do that; she's encouraging the people who stay at home to keep children to open their homes to others to create in-home care centers, and become licensed to do business that way. Hampton and Burton say another possible solution is for businesses to offer their own on-site day care for employees' kids, which some do.