Fatherly.com

“Covid-19 really has devastated the childcare system,” says Mindy Bennett, Deputy Chief of Partnership of the national child care advocacy organization Child Care Aware of America. “I’ve had community leaders tell me that they suspect that about 50 percent of their childcare have closed and will not reopen,” Bennett says.

Home-based child care, also known as family child care, ranges from informal baby-sitting (ie: Aunt Kathy down the block watches the kids) to larger groups of children and professional training. Because they’re operated from homes, these services have less space than child care centers. Usually, that means groups of five to 10 children of varying ages, with siblings kept together despite age gaps.

“Family childcare is a more home-like environment,” Bennett, a former home-based care center operator, says. “It may represent your home beliefs and culture more than a center.” 

WDET (NPR/Detroit)

The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on the nation’s child care system. Many providers had to close due to stay-at-home orders that kept families away. 

Press of Atlantic City

Lynette Fraga, CEO of Child Care Aware of America, said reopening child care centers and summer camps will be critical to restarting the economy in New Jersey and throughout the nation.

Her organization has a list of questions parents should ask their camps and child care providers as they reopen to ensure communication and safety, including how they will enforce social distancing and whether any COVID-19 cases have been found at the facility.

“Summer camps, just like school, frankly, during the school year, play a critical role in being a child care setting for parents when they return to work,” Fraga said. “What’s challenging, regardless of whether we name the summer care as camps or child care, is having the ability to open that care. Families are going to be very challenged, and there will be barriers for them to return to work.”

Child Care Aware is pushing for federal legislation that would increase funding for child care centers and camps. Some funding was included in the federal stimulus bill in response to COVID-19, and the state has also announced grant funding for child care centers and camps though the Department of Human Services to purchase additional cleaning products, personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves and thermometers, and other products and services to assist centers in complying with appropriate guidelines.

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Romper

National child care advocacy groups like Child Care Aware of America continue to monitor the evolving processes and procedures, updating parents and caregivers with resources like new fact sheets every step of the way.

While it is of the utmost importance to prepare your child for a return to their new normal at day care, it is also beneficial to consider how your child's facility will continue to keep up with their new health and safety regimens. The organization urges parents and caregivers concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on child care to advocate for their family's needs by contacting their legislators.

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KXAN (NBC/Austin)

Child care programs and summer camps are starting to open after shutting down because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Lynette Fraga of Child Care Aware of America helped create a list of questions parents should ask summer programs and child care centers to stay safe.

In order to try to avoid any cases or a possible shutdown of their facility, Dr. Fraga says child care providers need to prepare with personal protection equipment and sanitizing equipment, plus training and technical assistance for staff.

She also said Congress needs to help by providing support and funds so programs can stay open and keep kids safe.

“$50 billion is needed from Congress. It is so critically important for us to raise up the issue of child care. Without child care, our communities will not be able to stay open.”

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Mark Reardon Show, KMOX NewsRadio (St. Louis)

Lynette Fraga, CEO of Child Care Aware of America, discusses getting kids back to school and child care during the pandemic.

Listen to the interview.

Scripps National News

Child care facilities are struggling with how they will continue operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Providing care right now is expensive. We necessarily need sanitizing equipment, supportive PPE equipment. We need to ensure that ratios are high and group size is low, and that the physical space and the distances that are needed as well as the equipment and resources are available,” said Lynette Fraga, Executive Director of Child Care Aware of America.

Child Care Aware of America says it's possible that anywhere from 30 to 50% of facilities nationwide could close permanently, depending on how long the pandemic goes on.

That's with the increasing cost of much needed added health and safety measures. Also, some places are getting less money because they're keeping classrooms smaller now.

“That means those providers that are open those prices may really be affected for parents, so any way you may look at this equation, the price of care is a real concern for parents and the price for providers to provide that care is a real concern,” said Fraga.

The organization says some of the $50 billion the industry is asking Congress for would help families with this cost. It adds that families need to be the ones to raise concerns about access to affordable care.

Child care facilities are planning for what comes next if we see another spike in COVID-19 cases this fall. They're creating emergency preparedness plans, learning from what we've experienced over the last few months.

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Cheddar

Cheddar's Hena Doba is joined by Ami Gadhia, chief of policy, research, and programs for Child Care Aware of America, to discuss how states can't reopen with child care centers still closed.

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The Hill

Child care remains a central obstacle to reopening the economy as the school year ends and camps and summer programs remain on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Without child care, there’s no recovery,” said Lynette Fraga, executive director of non-profit Child Care Aware of America.

“As states are starting to reopen and parents are heading back to work, the children are in need of care,” Fraga said.

Adding significantly to the problem is the major hit child care businesses have taken during the pandemic.

“I think one major piece that is so critical to focus on is that when demand increases, there are going to be fewer child care slots available and working parents are going to have a really tough time accessing affordable child care.”

In order to stave off further coronavirus outbreaks, child care centers will be forced to accommodate smaller numbers of children in the same space, regularly take children’s temperatures, implement social distancing, and institute a bevy of new sanitization instructions.

“That turns upside down the business model for the child care providers,” said Fraga.

“What’s really needed is support ensuring that when PPE is needed, providers have it, when sanitizing equipment and supplies are needed, they have it,” she added, referring to personal protective equipment.

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PBS NewsHour

Who will care for the children of working parents when they return to their jobs, if schools and many child care providers remain closed? The CARES Act allocated $3.5 billion to support child care programs, but a national organization says many providers have yet to receive any funding. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports from Oregon, where a shortage of child care slots preceded the pandemic.

This story includes an interview with CCAoA Executive Director Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D.

Watch the video.