CNBC.com

Day cares, preschools and child-care providers nationwide are facing a tough road as they attempt to provide safe, quality care to children while navigating the ever-changing challenges posed to their businesses. And experts say that many providers may not make it.

“We’re going to lose a lot of child care at a time when we really need it,” says Lynette Fraga, executive director of Child Care Aware of America. “If workers are unable to find child care, they’re not going to be able to go back to work — and that is problematic.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines that encourage providers to establish smaller class sizes, equip staff with appropriate protective gear, increase sanitation routines, provide training for teachers and facility employees and attempt to put social distancing procedures into place.

“There is expense associated with all of that,” Fraga says. “Sanitizing equipment costs money,” she says, adding that the lower ratio of children to teachers and smaller group sizes have “flipped the business model upside down on its head.”

In fact, American families regularly pay over $11,000 a year to send their infant to a child-care center, about $10,000 for toddlers and over $9,000 for four-year-olds, according to Child Care Aware of America’s 2019 report.

“We’re really at a tough place,” Fraga says. “There are a lot of unknowns on the horizon. So it’s important that the U.S. really pay attention to what it’s going on take and be willing to invest and support child-care providers. It’s not just about the safety and development of children,” Fraga says, “it’s an economic equation, too.”

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Child Care Aware® of America is pleased to announce a partnership with the international humanitarian organization CARE® USA to bring CARE Packages® to child care providers who are caring for the children of those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. At this time, the effort is focused on 10 states that are especially hard hit. We know that providers are having a difficult time right now finding supplies and keeping their doors open.

Baltimore Sun

According to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit designed to assist families with child care, 24 states reported a decrease in child care programs from 2017 to 2018.

In a letter addressed to members of the U.S. Congress, Child Care Aware of America urged increased investment in child care programs across the country, specifically asking for at least $50 billion in aid as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“This funding would not only help provide emergency care for health care workers and other essential personnel in the immediate term,” the nonprofit wrote, “but would also prevent child care programs from closing permanently and help working families access these programs upon their return to work in the months ahead.”

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CNBC Online

The delay in reopening child-care centers in some states may not be due to a lack of planning, but rather, an abundance of coordination and caution. “This isn’t a light switch that we’re going to be turning back on again — there’s a real runway needed and some real thought that needs to be put into how we effectively open up child care again,” says Lynette Fraga, executive director of Child Care Aware of America.

Child Care Aware of America is tracking and updating daily the status of each state’s child care availability and any restrictions put in place amid the coronavirus pandemic

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MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell Reports

Andrea Mitchell is joined by Mark Shriver, President of Save the Children Action Network, and Lynette Fraga, Executive Director of Child Care Aware of America, to talk about how the availability of child care services is essential for parents with children to be able to return to work as many schools remain closed and child care providers remain unavailable.

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FoxNews.com

Although some states are allowing the reopening of businesses after the coronavirus shutdown, day care facilities and schools continue to be closed, an obstacle for parents who need child care so they can return to work.

“As federal and state governments are deliberating about reopening, we need to address the needs of parents and children and child care workers who are essential to reigniting the economy,” Child Care Aware of America executive director Lynette Fraga told "America's Newsroom."

Fraga stressed the need for representation of child care workers “at the table” when officials discuss the transition to reopening businesses around the country.

She said the sector has to be represented “to ensure that we’re communicating about the needs of child development and the needs of children. That we’re also ensuring those vital supplies, the cleaning supplies that are available and necessary, the kinds of equipment that are necessary in order to keep our children safe,” Fraga said.

Fraga said that there needs to be more guidelines and support to ensure children are emotionally and physically safe.

“And to ensure that, as we’re communicating, as we’re collaborating with public health, that we’re also acknowledging that young children need care and that young children may not be able to function in a group setting when they’re wearing masks.”

Fraga said that there are 20 million children of essential workers may need child care. Child Care Aware of America is a nonprofit resource designed to help families, including those serving in the military, who need help finding child care.

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FOX News Channel

Child Care Aware of America executive director Lynette Fraga discussed concerns over child care as states reopen on America's Newsroom.

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SiriusXM, Press Pool with Julie Mason

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Business Insider

Many [child care centers] will stay shuttered for good. Her estimate? "It's going to be at least 30% of all child care centers in the US," she said.

Ami Gadhia, chief of policy, research, and programs at Child Care Aware, agreed with that statistic, saying it sounded "reasonable" to her, unfortunately.

In the coronavirus relief bill enacted on March 27, Congress allocated $3.5 billion to the Child Care Development Block Grant. This funding is helping states provide crucial temporary aid to providers and support the cost of providing child care for children of essential workers. However, advocates say it is not enough to keep centers afloat.

Former presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith are calling on Senate leaders to include their plan for a $50 billion child care bailout in the next coronavirus relief package. It's uncertain whether the Republican-led Senate will pass the measure.

"If we're going to bail out cruise lines and airlines, why aren't we bailing out the child care industry? No one can go back to work in other industries if their children aren't in safe, healthy settings," Gadhia said.

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New York Times

Since the pandemic began, 16 states have mandated closures of child care facilities to all children except those of essential workers. A seventeenth, Rhode Island, closed child care facilities to everyone. Even in states without regulations, many day cares have chosen to close in response to the pandemic, according to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit advocacy group.

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