HuffPost: After Coronavirus, Nearly Half Of The Day Care Centers In The U.S. Could Be Gone

The coronavirus has created a crisis for parents: Child care providers across the country are closing or facing severe economic hardship – with little government help in sight. In fact, one estimate found half of all licensed child care operators won’t make it through the current pandemic.

According to experts, child care operators would need $9.6 billion every month to last through a six-month shutdown. While the initial CARES Act had some money for child care centers – $3.5 billion – it’s tens of billions short of what child care centers need during closure or reduced capacity.

If lawmakers don’t act to help child care providers, it will hamstring our economic recovery. Without accessible and affordable child care – which is already very expensive – many parents will be forced to stay home to care for their children instead of going back to work when the economy reopens. Not only is this bad for parents – it’s bad for the economy as a whole, as it removes workers from the economy, lowers demand for child care jobs, and slows local economic recovery.

This problem is further compounded by uncertainty around when schools will reopen next year, and the likelihood that education budgets are likely to get slashed across the country. Without child care, whether in day care centers or in school, parents won’t be able to work, and we won’t have a meaningful reopening of the economy. That’s why we need your immediate help to pass emergency legislation.

Recently, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the “Child Care is Essential Act” to Congress, which creates a $50 billion child care stabilization fund that would help businesses reopen and pay staff, help working families in need, and prevent child care centers from closing.

This crucial act will help families get back to work safely and make sure child care centers can cover costs during this crisis – which will be a long-term boon to the economy. That’s why we need you to contact your legislators and demand Congress pass this act immediately:

Click here to use our hassle-free tool to quickly contact your lawmakers in Congress and demand they support the Child Care is Essential Act!

Solving this crisis will play a critical role in helping our economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic, and we’re counting on you to help make a difference.

Stephen Paolini
Civic Action