Little Flowers Early Childhood and Development Center in Baltimore, Md., on Jan. 12, 2021. (Matt Roth / The Washington Post via Getty Images) |
BY JULIE KASHEN | On Sept. 30, Congress let federal childcare stabilization grant funding expire. For providers like Heather in South Carolina and Suzanne in Connecticut, grant funds meant the difference between shutting down and keeping their doors open. Now that we’ve gone over the childcare cliff, 3.2 million children could lose their childcare.
The end of the federal funds was abrupt, but the impact will be felt more like a steady drip, slow roll, or, as one leader called it, quicksand.
First, providers will be forced to raise tuition prices to offset the loss of stabilization grants. Christina Eubanks in Anchorage, Alaska, and Angela Schmitz in Fond Du Lac, Wis., have already raised fees 23 percent and 10 percent respectively, in response to the expiration of stabilization funds, and Schmitz is preparing to raise them another 10 percent in January. Consequently, parents—particularly mothers—are making tough decisions to pay higher prices given the already astronomical cost of childcare or, in some cases, reducing their work hours or quitting their jobs.
Then, staffing shortages—like in Missoula, Mo., where Wild Wonders home-based childcare program has already lost its three employees when the stabilization funds stopped supporting higher pay. They have gone from serving 12 to four children, and are one of the many programs that will be forced to contract—serving fewer children or closing classrooms.
Finally, childcare programs—as many as 70,000 by our projections—will have to shut down altogether.
The good news: If Congress can get their act together to fund emergency childcare before the end of the calendar year, they can stem the worst of these consequences. Despite the high levels of partisanship in Congress, at the last minute, leaders were able to work together to avoid a costly government shutdown at the hands of a few conservative extremists. They must do the same for the childcare sector. (Click here to read more) |
