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.”

Watch the video.

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.

Watch the video.

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.

Watch the video

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.

Bloomberg News

As states around the country attempt to restart their economies, lack of child care will continue to keep some people—mostly women—from getting back to work.

“The pandemic has focused the nation’s attention on the fact that access to child care is a really critical part of our economic health,” said Ami Gadhia, the policy chief for Child Care Aware, an industry advocacy group. She added that without emergency funding many providers will be forced to close permanently, citing a survey from the National Association for the Education of Young Children that estimates up to 63% of the industry will go out of business without help from Congress.

Read the full article.

As states begin to reopen and parents start heading back to work, many are wondering if it’s safe to send their child to a child care program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines for reopening child care, schools, and businesses, but child care providers need personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies, guidance from Child Care Resource and Referral agencies, and financial support to be able to implement these guidelines.  
 
To help parents make child care decisions during the pandemic, we created a Top 5 list of questions for parents to ask about child care health and safety, based in part on the CDC’s guidelines. For more details, see our blog post and fact sheet.  

1. What happens if an enrolled child or staff member gets sick with COVID-19? How will you communicate with families if this happens and will the program close?  
2. What social/physical distancing measures are you taking in your child care program to mitigate the spread of COVID-19? 
3. Will my child need to wear a face covering when he/she is in child care? 
4. How will drop off and pick up procedures change? 
5. Under what circumstances will I be able to enter the child care program? 
   

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.