As policymakers consider solutions to North Dakota's child care crisis, a state agency is moving forward with incentives they hope will compel more workplaces to help staff with care costs.

The Health and Human Services department is asking employers to participate in a pilot program. It offers matching funds when a business provides at least $300 in monthly benefits to an employee who has a child between zero and three years old and signed up for care at a licensed facility.

Kay Larson, early childhood section director for the department, said they hope removing the cost burden will prevent parents from taking long pauses in their careers.

"Families with young children often face the greatest economic pressure, and they're making critical decisions about how and if they can reenter the workforce," Larson observed. "And then they're considering that cost of tuition. "

According to Kids Count researchers, North Dakota families each year are paying between nearly $8,000 and nearly $10,000 on average for child care. The pilot program is being funded with federal pandemic relief aid. State lawmakers are considering a similar long-term initiative as they debate a range of child care proposals this session.

As for the current funding, Larson noted they anticipate it will last for at least the next couple of years.

"North Dakota set aside just over $9 million for this," Larson pointed out. "We're anticipating we can help over 1,000 infants and toddlers in this process."

In getting payments from both the state and their employer, she emphasized it could make a big dent in monthly child care costs for families. There are eligibility requirements for workers to receive cost-share subsidies. While employers can go as high as they want in offering monthly child care benefits, North Dakota's limit for matching funds is $300.


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Gov. Spencer Cox has announced a statewide initiative to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program, which aims to get more Utahns connected to the internet.

The "ACP Act Now: Utah" initiative unites a number of stakeholders to close the broadband affordability gap. According to the governor's office, almost 350,000 Utah households are eligible for a federal discount on monthly internet service, but only 16% of them have enrolled.

Clint Cottam, executive director of the Community Action Partnership of Utah, said many are not aware of the program, which is part of the issue.

"About 65% of our unconnected households are actually because of affordability, not because of infrastructure," Cottam pointed out. "Now granted, there is still 35% that are infrastructure-related -- not getting enough providers and overcoming some of those planning barriers -- but really, it's cost affordability."

Cottam pointed out being able to connect to the internet is essential for work, school and health care needs, especially post-pandemic. He added the State of Utah is starting to better understand broadband access is as important as other utilities, and those left behind will be at a disadvantage.

Cottam acknowledged there is also a general distrust of government-sponsored programs for many rural and marginalized populations. He emphasized community action agencies can help establish trust to get more people enrolled.

He added not all populations in Utah have the confidence or skills to complete the online forms, and networks like his serve those communities. Cottam stressed nationally, people of color are disproportionately affected by lack of broadband connectivity.

"We want to make this a service that is integrated with other things that can help a family stabilize and realize greater economic security," Cottam asserted. "I want people to know it is OK to ask for help, and it is OK to get help."

He said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes funding for Affordable Connectivity Program outreach, which should help groups already working with lower-income clients.

More than 40% of private sector workers in Pennsylvania earned their living at businesses without retirement plans, as of 2020. Multiple groups are now urging the General Assembly to pass legislation to change it.

A bill under consideration would establish a state-facilitated retirement savings program for private-sector workers.

Bill Johnston-Walsh, state director for AARP Pennsylvania, said the bill aims to address the retirement security gap in Pennsylvania, where more than two million workers lack a workplace retirement savings plan.

He thinks the "Keystone Saves" program outlined in the bill would be a win, both for small businesses and their employees.

"The important thing about Keystone Saves is that it is where the worker owns their own account," Johnston-Walsh explained. "It's where they can take it from job to job, so it's portable. And the bottom line is that they will be able to start saving for their retirement."

Johnston-Walsh argued a simple, voluntary payroll deduction would give more people a chance to build their own financial security. In other states, some banking and investment interests have voiced concerns it could cut into their business.

Research indicates people are 15 times more likely to save for retirement with a workplace plan. House Bill 577 passed the House in May and is now under consideration by the state Senate.

This week, AARP Pennsylvania was part of a news conference about the bill, with Sen. Art Haywood, D-Montgomery, and Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-Blakely. Johnston-Walsh added in a recent poll, up to 79% of small businesses and business owners said they'd support Keystone Saves.

"By passing this legislation, the Keystone Saves legislation, we'll be putting a secure future within everyone's reach within Pennsylvania now," Johnston-Walsh contended. "It's fair. It's right. And it's time to be able to do this and pass Keystone Saves."

He noted they have until the end of November 2024 to get the bill to the governor's desk for a signature. Eighteen states have already enacted state-facilitated payroll-deduction retirement savings, sometimes known as "Work and Save" programs.

As the summer construction season ramps up, the industry is preparing for new requirements under a pending Minnesota law change.

In recent years, Minnesota has cracked down on wage theft. But labor leaders within construction say they were still seeing too many workers being taken advantage of.

They pushed for a bill in the recent legislative session to hold owners and managers of construction sites liable, and not just a subcontractor suspected of wage theft.

Adam Duininck, director of government affairs for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, said the provision was included in a final budget bill.

"The best part about this law, if it works really well," said Duininck, "what will happen is general (contractors) and developers won't hire those bad subcontractors to begin with - because then the general and the developer will understand that they're responsible for that."

The bill does carve out exemptions for certain single-family housing development projects, as well as contractors with collective bargaining agreements.

Some associations within the industry criticized the plan, saying it plays favorites in regard to those exemptions.

But Duininck contended that job sites with unionized contractors often don't have problems with wage theft.

The changes are scheduled to take effect August 1. In the meantime, Duininck said he hopes there's not only awareness among project leaders - but that word spreads among workers as well.

"I think that workers will hopefully feel more empowered to speak up when they are experiencing wage and hour issues," said Duininck. "A lot of the workers that we talk with on this matter come to us as immigrant workers, as workers that don't feel like they have a lot of rights to begin with."

The changes follow Minnesota's wage-theft law that was adopted in 2019.

According to the union, Minnesota joins Illinois as the only other Midwestern state to weave in specific liability language for general contractors and developers.