Students from Kreative Minds Academy received books about a secret seahorse, birds, and a moose and 20 mice as part of a literacy initiative from Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration on Jan. 9, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on June 26, 2026 at 12:29 pm
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The last week of June is one of the times on the calendar when childcare access, or the lack of it, is readily apparent.
Thursday morning, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan shared the findings of the city’s Child Care Solutions Task Force. The press event was held at a childcare facility at a time when most working parents were on the clock on a date when most children are out of school for the summer.
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Jacksonville childcare challenges
Among its findings:
- Childcare costs that range between $1,000 and $2,400 a month place a financial strain single-income households and middle-income households.
- There are more than 400 providers; however, there are often not enough slots at those facilities to meet the demand for care.
- Too many parents and caregivers are forced to decide between childcare and the workforce.
Lynn Sherman, the city of Jacksonville’s executive director of health programs, says loving children is not enough to solve the challenge.
“Some parents have had no choice but to reduce their work hours, or not go to work at all and to leave a job they love,” Sherman said.
The report also spotlighted the reverberations that can be felt if a caregiver’s system is interrupted.
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“Families with the least flexibility experience the deepest consequences,” the report stated. “A missed day of care for a higher-income family may be disruptive; for a low-wage single parent it may mean a lost shift, disciplinary action or job loss. A provider shortage in a high-income neighborhood may be solved by paying more; in an underserved neighborhood it may translate into no realistic options.”
Proposed Jacksonville childcare solutions
Deegan says the childcare facilities that serve children in their formative years are not babysitters. They are early learning providers. The future of this city, she says, “depends on us getting this piece right.”
That collective includes local employers, philanthropic leaders, childcare providers, educators and, of course, parents.
The report provided eight suggestions to increase childcare access throughout Jacksonville. They include:
- Create a pilot program where families are provided stipends and/or vouchers for children between birth and 3 years old.
- Develop a centralized childcare access platform that outlines providers and shares cost estimates.
- Provide facilities grants and permitting support that will spur childcare expansion in ZIP codes where there are shortages.
- Stabilize and expand the early learning workforce through wage supports, paid apprenticeships and alignment with higher education programs.
Investment in childcare infrastructure
Deegan stressed the initiative is not a call to expand government or spend new taxpayer dollars on childcare. It’s a call to facilitate an investment in Jacksonville’s future.
“When childcare works, children learn, grow and enter school ready to succeed,” Deegan said. “And, when childcare doesn’t work, everyone feels the impact.”
Makayla Buchanan, a Northeast Florida native and current chief of staff for The Children’s Movement of Florida, told Jacksonville Today in August 2025 the better a child is prepared for kindergarten, the more they will achieve.
Yasmina White was among the 23 members of the task force that included workforce, nonprofit, philanthropic and leaders within Duval County Public Schools. It also featured nurses, doctors, legal advocates and representatives from the business community.
White is the mother of two school-aged children. She says summertime magnifies the need for quality and affordable childcare systems.
White’s children are six years apart. She personally observed a 40% increase in childcare costs for the same care at similar ages. She devoted her tenure on the task force advocating for single-income households, children with disabilities, teenage mothers and families who may be raising a young child, while juggling the health concerns of their elders.
Childcare is considered a private burden, rather than a public good, White says.
“It is a public good because we need a workforce,” White says. “We need childcare to have a sustainable workforce. People will not understand the cost of care is simply unaffordable.”
White acknowledges there are not a lot of easy fixes.
One that has been embraced is the Child Care Tax Credits Program that unanimously passed both houses of the Florida Legislature in 2024. That program allows employers to receive tax write-offs for payments — up to $300 per month per child — that are to childcare facilities on an employee’s behalf.
The size of an employer’s annual tax break is dependent on the size of the firm.
- Companies with 19 or fewer employees can receive as much as $50,000 in tax credits through this program.
- Businesses with 20 to 250 employees can receive up to $500,000 in tax credits.
- Businesses with more than 250 employees are eligible for a $1 million annual tax credit.
But, there is work to be done. White notes that teachers and early educators were often roles handled by women, who were underpaid for their work.
“Unfortunately, the phrase ‘a labor of love’ has been so normalized, we have taken away from the need to pay women who are in these roles,” White says. “That labor is what is taking care of our children. Women have always been underpaid in these roles. They will continue to be until something is done about it.”
White, Deegan and Sherman are all hopeful the recommendations are the beginning of the solutions.
