INDIANAPOLIS — A new Indiana Chamber of Commerce report showed Indiana loses out on roughly $4 billion each year thanks to a lack of childcare options. ”It is spot-on just regarding what it is actually costing the state,” said Jacqueline Strong with Little Duckling Early Learning Christian Academy. U.S. Senate candidates discuss top priorities, federal abortion ban “This report confirmed for us something that we’ve known for a while," said Maureen Weber, the President/CEO of Early Learning Indiana. ”We did an initial economic impact study about six years ago, and we found, really, the number hasn’t moved very much.” The report said roughly $3 billion of those dollars lost each year are due to parents missing or quitting work to care for their kids. “Most of our parents [on the waitlist], they’ve called around, they’ve visited other schools, and there just isn’t a lot of availability,” said Strong. According to Strong, parents who can find available spots elsewhere often have concerns about the quality of a given center. ”There’s a level of…’Will my child be safe here? Is my child learning here? Can I go to work and not worry about the conditions that my child is in?’” said Strong. While the state has made significant strides regarding childcare access over the past several years, staffing shortages remain a huge problem. Strong said in a given one to two-month period, she may only end up retaining one of every five new hires. ”And it’s not just my program that’s suffering from that,” said Strong. “All of the childcare providers are suffering from the same things.” Indiana paid $7 billion to administer prescription drug benefits in five-year period according to new report Weber said the state has been working on regulatory reforms to streamline licensing of childcare providers. ”I think it’s really important that we get that work across the line so that we can make sure we’re maximizing the resources that we are putting into this sector,” said Weber. According to Weber, the state is also on track to deliver recommendations for a micro-childcare center pilot program targeting rural communities by January. She said she anticipates those pilot program centers should be up and running by next March.