Childcare providers and state officials gathered in Statesboro for the final stop of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning’s (DECAL) 2026 Road Show, an event focused on addressing challenges in the childcare industry and strengthening support for early childhood education across the state.
The event brought together childcare owners, directors, and community partners to discuss staffing shortages, rising operating costs, childcare affordability, and the future of early learning in Georgia. The road show also gave local providers an opportunity to speak directly with state officials about their needs and concerns.
Commissioner Amy Jacobs explained that bringing the event to different regions of Georgia was important for building stronger relationships between the state agency and childcare providers.
“We're a state agency that regulates and tries to support over 4,000 child care programs that are all over the state,” Jacobs said. “It was really important for us to just get around four different locations across the state to make it easier for child care providers to hear from us, but also for us to hear from them about their needs, their challenges, things like that.”
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