This crisis is having ripple effects far beyond families with young children, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. In total, Massachusetts loses $2.7 billion of earnings every year because of parents who cannot find adequate child care, the MTF found.

That workforce shortage disproportionately affects women, as shown by a roughly 20 percentage-point gap between mothers out of the workforce (27%) and fathers (7%), according to a new MTF study.