The Independent Restaurant Coalition is advocating for federal programs and tax credits that reflect the realities of restaurant work and support working parents.
Affordable, accessible childcare is not only a family concern. It is an economic condition that directly affects restaurant operations, employee retention, and the stability of the communities restaurants serve. For restaurant workers, the barrier is often structural. Most licensed childcare operates on a standard weekday schedule, opening after the breakfast period and closing before dinner service, and remain closed on the weekends and holidays - times that happen to constitute a restaurant's busiest periods. A significant share of the restaurant workforce cannot access care during the hours they are required to work.
The impact falls disproportionately on the restaurant workforce. Restaurants employ a higher proportion of young workers, single parents, and women and people of color than most industries, and these are precisely the workers for whom the cost and timing of childcare most directly determine their ability to hold a job. When childcare is unavailable, restaurants lose trained employees, reduce hours, and operate with diminished staffing.
The IRC has secured meaningful progress. Congress continues to increase investment in federal child care programs each year. In 2025, the federal tax law enacted the first significant update to the childcare tax credits in decades, including provisions the IRC advocated for:
- The Dependent Care Assistance Program cap increased from $5,000 to $7,500 in pre-tax income that families may set aside for dependent care.
- The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit was enhanced to more accurately reflect the cost of care.
- The Employer-Provided Child Care Credit (45F) was permanently expanded for the first time since 2001. The maximum credit more than tripled, a higher credit rate is now available to small businesses, and businesses may pool resources to fund childcare jointly. For the first time, the credit is a realistic option for an independent restaurant. Detailed guidance for operators is available separately.
These provisions represent genuine progress. They do not, however, resolve the fundamental problem, because no tax credit assists a parent who cannot locate care available during a restaurant's operating hours. Addressing that gap requires new legislation. The IRC works in coalition with the First Five Years Fund and the bipartisan Federal Child C.A.R.E. Coalition, whose members include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to advance it.
The IRC is advocating for the following measures:
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Pass the After Hours Child Care Act. Introduced by Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), this legislation is the most directly relevant to the restaurant workforce. It expands childcare capacity for families working nontraditional hours, including nights, early mornings, and weekends, and supports employer-provided on-site care. Restaurant workers are identified among the shift workers the bill is designed to serve.
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Pass the Child Care Modernization Act. The IRC is an endorser of this bipartisan, bicameral legislation, which it supports alongside more than 40 national and state organizations. The bill strengthens the Child Care and Development Block Grant, the largest source of federal childcare funding, by expanding childcare supply and capacity, supporting home-based and rural providers, and enabling states to serve additional working families.
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Support the early childhood workforce. The Supporting Early-Childhood Educators' Deductions (SEED) Act, which extends the educator tax deduction to early childhood educators, passed the House of Representatives unanimously in April 2026 and awaits Senate action. Early childhood educators earn a median wage of approximately $13 per hour, and the childcare system cannot function without them.
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Fund and protect the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The CCDBG is the largest source of federal childcare funding and must be protected, prioritized, and expanded. Congress should sustain and increase investment in the CCDBG, Head Start, and Early Head Start through the FY2027 appropriations process, which is currently underway.
Childcare is a workforce issue. When a parent cannot secure care, a restaurant loses a trained employee and a family loses income. Both consequences affect the surrounding community. The legislative tools to address the problem are before Congress, and the independent restaurant sector has a direct interest in their advancement.