Thursday, February 19, 2026 | 8–10 AM
The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce
222 Mulberry Street | Scranton, PA 18503
ABOUT THE EVENT
The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce will be hosting Karen Grimm-Thomas, early childhood education strategy advisor with The Pennsylvania Key, working in support of Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) at its February Capitol Conversations event.
Child care remains a critical workforce and economic development issue for our region, and a key priority area for The Chamber. During this conversation, Grimm-Thomas will focus on how child care challenges directly affect employers and employees, particularly how access (or lack of access) to reliable child care impacts attendance, retention, and workforce participation.
Grimm-Thomas’s work centers on helping businesses think through practical, employer-driven solutions, including ways employers can better support working parents and navigate the challenges employees face when child care becomes a barrier to coming to work. She will share examples of strategies, partnerships, and approaches that have helped businesses address these issues in real and actionable ways.
This will be an informal, interactive discussion designed to provide context, practical takeaways, and an opportunity for dialogue around child care challenges and solutions that directly affect our local workforce.
