Child Care Aware^® of America is pleased to award 11 Child Care Resource & Referral member agencies COVID-19 Quick Response Grants.  The grants were made possible through generous financial support from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP).  Funds received from CDP will allow CCAoA to rapidly support CCR&Rs by offering subgrants for the purchase of supplies or enhanced services supports for childcare providers in areas of the U.S. in need and to provide direct aid to those geographic areas entering phased recovery. 

Early in the COVID-19 crisis, Child Care Aware^® of America (CCAoA) developed a decision flow diagram to aid decision making surrounding temporarily closing child care programs due to health and safety concerns. CCAoA’s flow diagram was adapted from a school-age program decision aid developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now we are several months into COVID-19 and child care programs that have been able to remain open face continued uncertainty. A critical unknown is if child care programs contribute to community COVID-19 transmission. Presently, researchers at Yale University are conducting a study to determine the implications of child care programs that remain open or closed during COVID-19. 

Like no other time in the history of child care, coronavirus (COVID-19) is challenging child care professionals to make difficult decisions about closing their programs temporarily and then determining when and how to reopen. These decisions are critical to protecting the health and safety of all enrolled children and their families as well as program staff and their household members.

Aside from state/local mandates for child care programs, reopening decisions are complicated by numerous factors: Will children be enrolled who have easily compromised immune system health or who have conditions, like asthma, that put them at enhanced risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes if exposed to the virus? Are child care program staff comfortable with potentially being on the front lines of coronavirus as they are in close quarters with children when providing care? Can cleaning, sanitizing and personal protective equipment be sourced and will it be affordable for child care programs for as long as it is needed? How do continuously shifting community transmission rates and many other COVID-19 unknowns factor in to decision making to re-open doors to children and their families?  

As the COVID-19 health and economic crisis continues, the child care industry is pushed further towards the brink of collapse. Throughout the pandemic, the sector has adhered to public health guidance and ensured frontline personnel have access to care, however as the field moves towards additional reopening, and planning for the fall, additional support is needed to ensure child care programs, both center-based and family child care, outlast the pandemic. 

The COVID-19 situation and its impact are fluid, changing from day to day. There are many uncertainties regarding child care and child care operations, and child care professionals at both the program and system level must be nimble in their response to the pandemic. They must lean on and build upon the strengths that have served them well and will continue to serve them well during COVID-19 and beyond: relationship-based practices and data-driven decision making.

As parents and caregivers navigate a return to the workforce and the start of a new school year, child care is a critical support to reopening the economy and providing stability to families. It has become abundantly clear that no industry will be able to restart if the child care sector is allowed to collapse. We need to ensure that all child care providers can open as soon as it is safe to do so – so that families are able to get back to work as soon as they’re able. To make that happen, Congress must provide at least $50 billion in dedicated child care funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To make this a reality, advocacy has never been more important. Child Care Aware^® of America (CCAoA)has compiled a comprehensive toolkit to make it easy to have an effective conversation with your Members of Congress from the comfort and safety of your own home. The following steps will guide your through these resources.