On September 24, we released our fall report Picking Up the Pieces: Building a Better Child Care System Post COVID-19. Alongside this report, we feature an interactive website that includes videos, infographics and a map where you can get data for each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. You can also access a PDF version of the report in English or Spanish and our annual Appendices that analyze child care prices in 2019.

Child care has always been a through line for communities, supporting children and families in a myriad of ways, but its essential role has been underscored throughout the pandemic. While schools and businesses shut down in the spring of 2020, child care remained open in some capacity in most states so essential personnel could continue to work to keep communities running. The child care sector now faces the uncertainty of an unprecedented school year and the challenges that come along with a new demand for care for school-age children as remote learning becomes the new norm. Child care cannot meet these demands on its own. The system needs sufficient policy solutions. 

If you filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019 or if you receive Social Security, Railroad Retirement, or certain Veterans benefits, you likely received an Economic Impact Payment (“EIP” also known as a “stimulus check”) automatically in the form of a direct deposit, paper check, or debit card.  

Financial Impact and Federal Relief 

The COVID-19 impact on child care programs is pervasive and multi-faceted. Child care business owners have faced abrupt program closures or reduced operational capacity. Programs that stayed open, including those mandated to only serve essential workers, have had to front much higher than usual operational costs. These extra costs include cleaning and disinfection supplies, health screening resources, personal protective equipment, and environmental modifications to accommodate small group sizes and physical distancing in programs. Payroll costs also have surged as more staff is needed to conduct health screenings for children in care, clean throughout the day and supervise smaller groups of children. 

While Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) focuses our advocacy efforts on the immediate need for emergency stabilization funds for the child care industry to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual funding, or appropriations, process continues.  

Last month, the House of Representatives passed the FY2021 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill that includes funding increases for federal early learning and care programs. This funding would kick in on October 1, 2020.  

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.