Mayor D.C. Reeves unveiled the Mayor’s Childcare Access Program last week, a bold new initiative aimed at expanding high-quality, affordable childcare options for families across the City of Pensacola. The program is a strategic effort to better utilize city resources and to leverage the Community Redevelopment Agency’s portion of funding from the Escambia Children’s Trust, ensuring local children and working families have the support they need.
“Access to affordable, quality childcare is not just a family issue — it’s an economic issue,” said Mayor Reeves. “By aligning city resources and targeting available funding from the Escambia Children’s Trust, we will build the kind of infrastructure to allow Pensacola families to thrive and our economy to grow.”
This initiative also reflects Mayor Reeves’ leadership on the national stage as Chair of the Jobs, Education, and Workforce Committee with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he has championed innovative, community-driven strategies to address the childcare crisis facing cities across the country.
The Mayor’s Childcare Access Program will prioritize:
- Supporting and expanding existing childcare centers in underserved areas, particularly within the CRA district.
- Providing direct grants and technical assistance to childcare providers to improve capacity, quality, and workforce development.
- Partnering with local employers to incentivize on-site or subsidized childcare solutions.
- Connecting families with trusted childcare resources and streamlining access to available subsidies and scholarships.
Expanding childcare access aligns with recent findings from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which has identified childcare availability as a critical factor in workforce participation and economic competitiveness statewide. Employers and communities across Florida are increasingly recognizing that access to childcare is a top priority for attracting and retaining talent.
To lead this effort and other related initiatives, the city has hired Theresa Cserep as its Education and Youth Programs Officer — a newly created role under Mayor Reeves’ administration. Cserep brings a decade of experience in educational policy, youth engagement, and nonprofit coordination, and will work closely with city departments, childcare providers, the Escambia Children’s Trust, and community stakeholders to implement the new program.
“Theresa’s passion and expertise make her the ideal person to help us build a more supportive environment for Pensacola’s youngest residents,” Reeves said. “This is about investing in our future — starting with the very first years of life.”
“It’s an honor to contribute to strategic education and youth development initiatives. These are areas essential to the future of our community,” says Cserep. “I look forward to working with schools, community partners and city leaders to ensure our children and young people are supported, empowered and not overlooked.”
As a key part of the initiative’s launch, the City of Pensacola will host a Childcare Summit Wednesday, May 28. The summit will bring together a diverse group of local and state experts, childcare providers, business leaders and community advocates. It will serve as a platform for collaboration, idea-sharing, and actionable planning to strengthen childcare access across the region.
