Without federal support, experts say child care is likely to get more expensive for parents

September 24, 2020

CNBC.com

Despite states allowing child-care providers to reopen their doors as the spring and summer stay-at-home orders lifted, attendance is still down and many centers have yet to get back into business. 

About 35% of child-care centers and 21% of family child-care programs remain closed nationwide as of July, according to the latest data available from Child Care Aware of America released Thursday. Of the providers that are open, attendance and enrollment is significantly lower than it was at the start of the year.

That’s due, in part, to state and local health guidelines limiting the number of children allowed in a classroom or facility in order to maintain social distancing. Child Care Aware found that 17 of the 32 states that reported attendance data say they’ve lost more than 25% of their capacity.

“Child care was already in a bad place prior to prior to the pandemic,” says Lynette Fraga, CEO of Child Care Aware. “This exacerbated price and cost and supply of quality child care.” 

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Topics: Media Mention

Written by CCAoA