The Problem

Nikki understands this issue personally because she has lived it.

As a single mother serving in the military, Nikki worked a part-time job just to help pay rent and keep food on the table. She knows what it feels like to live paycheck to paycheck while trying to build a better future for your child. She knows the stress of wondering whether child care will be paid on time or whether the light bill will become past due just to make it through the month.

There were bills, sacrifices, and hard days behind this smile.

Too many Georgia parents are carrying that same burden every day.

Across Georgia, child care costs continue to rise while wages fail to keep up. In many communities, especially rural areas, affordable and reliable child care options are limited or unavailable altogether. Parents are being forced to make impossible decisions between caring for their children and keeping their jobs. Many are cutting hours, turning down opportunities, or leaving the workforce entirely because they simply do not have the support they need.

This is not just a family issue. It is a workforce issue. When parents cannot access affordable child care, businesses struggle to retain workers, workforce participation declines, and Georgia’s economy suffers.

Nikki’s Plan

As Labor Commissioner, Nikki will fight to make sure Georgia’s workforce systems actually support working families.

She will work to strengthen partnerships among workforce development programs, employers, technical colleges, and child care providers so that parents are not left behind as they build stable careers.

Her administration will:

• Expand awareness of workforce support programs available to parents and caregivers

• Advocate for workforce policies that recognize child care as essential economic infrastructure

• Encourage partnerships with employers that support working families through flexible scheduling and family-friendly workplace policies

• Improve access to workforce training opportunities that accommodate parents and caregivers

• Increase coordination between labor, workforce, and child care systems across Georgia

• Ensure workforce opportunities reach rural, underserved, and working-class communities

What Nikki Believes

Parents should not have to choose between caring for their children and earning a paycheck.

Nikki believes work should work for everyone, including working parents who are doing everything they can to provide for their families. Georgia’s economy depends on parents being able to participate in the workforce without constantly living on the edge of financial crisis.

When families are supported, workers are stronger, businesses are stronger, and communities are stronger. Nikki wants to help build a Georgia where parents are not just surviving month to month, but have a real opportunity to build stability, security, and a future for their children.