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The COVID-19 pandemic brought the child care crisis into the national spotlight, but families, providers, and children have long experienced challenges due to the lack of comprehensive child care and early education systems. To date, the $50 billion in pandemic relief funding Congress delivered to support children, families, and early educators has made a substantial impact on the state of child care in our country. States have used the federal child care relief dollars to expand child care assistance eligibility, waive copayments, increase provider wages, eliminate child care deserts, and much more.
In a new brief and four state profiles featuring work in Louisiana, Michigan, New York, and Virginia, CLASP details the successes and challenges of the relief funding implementation process. The resources also highlight how the funding ultimately made a difference in shaping the lives of families and child care providers.
However, at the end of next month, states will face the first deadline for spending their federal child care relief funds. As this fiscal cliff looms, state child care agencies, child care providers, and families with young children will face major challenges in providing and accessing care due to the continued crisis of a vastly underfunded child care system. These resources outline the progress that is at stake without a significant, permanent increase in federal funding.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Rachel Wilensky at [email protected].
Interested in sharing these resources with others? We have included suggested tweets below.
- New research from @CLASPChildCare shows how #childcarerelief enabled states to achieve long-overdue improvements to #ChildCare that better support families and providers – and the risks of its upcoming expiration. #ARPA https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/pandemic-child-care-relief-funds-documenting-impact-across-four-states
- Federal #childcarerelief funds led to vital improvements and necessary stabilization across states. New research from @CLASPChildCare highlights these successes & deep concerns that this progress may be short-lived as the funding cliff approaches. https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/pandemic-child-care-relief-funds-documenting-impact-across-four-states
- #ChildCare pandemic relief funds allowed states to expand access to assistance, make care more affordable, and increase wages for providers. New research from @CLASPChildCare shows this crucial progress is at stake without increased federal funding. https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/pandemic-child-care-relief-funds-documenting-impact-across-four-states
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