Although the vast majority of child-care programs opened back up after the spring stay-at-home orders lifted, many daycare centers and preschool owners are taking on huge financial losses — both personal and professional.
To help, lawmakers reached a deal Sunday on a $900 billion Covid-19 pandemic relief package that provides $10 billion in funding for the industry. However, advocates say that amount isn’t enough to keep child-care providers in business for long.
That’s because many centers are still operating at lower capacities, even as costs rise. The survey found that 91% are paying extra for cleaning supplies, 73% have taken on extra expenses for personal protective equipment and 60% are paying additional staff wages.
“Child-care providers have been hit hard by the Covid-19 economic crisis,” says Sarah Rittling, executive director of the First Five Years Fund, an early childhood education advocacy organization.
The $10 billion in relief allocated to child care in Sunday’s package is a “symbolic” recognition of the critical role child-care providers play, Rittling says. But more assistance is needed in order to support this hard-hit industry.
“The new Congress and incoming Biden administration have an opportunity to pick up where this down payment leaves off to ensure providers have the resources to prevent them from shuttering their doors permanently through what is sure to be a tumultuous and unpredictable few months, as well as to address the nation’s child-care challenges by fortifying an early learning and care system that works for all families,” Rittling says.
Others agree. Zero to Three Chief Policy Officer Myra Jones-Taylor called the latest pandemic rescue deal a “stopgap,” saying that the child-care industry needs at least $57 billion in funding to provide grants and assistance to operators for long-term increased costs and lower enrollment.
“This package does not include nearly enough funding to support our child-care centers, who are struggling to remain afloat with less capacity, nor does it include the paid leave all workers so desperately need,” Jones-Taylor says.
