October 19, 2020
The pandemic continues to take a toll on early learning and care, at the national, state, and at the local level, as child care deserts spread, parents make difficult decisions, and child care workers are left without a safety net.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are looking for solutions through federal funding and local solutions though some have not panned out as well as others.
Recently released studies are still getting play in the press, touting child care as a safe tool for getting parents (moms in particular) back to work.
| NATIONAL NEWS Coronavirus Threatens to Push the Child-Care Industry Over the Edge Wall Street Journal | 10/17/20 Child-care centers across the country—big chains, tiny in-home operations, nonprofits—are teetering. Enrollment slumped in the spring and never fully recovered. Extra expenses, like protective gear and deep cleaning, are piling up. Child care centers don’t drive coronavirus infections, national study shows Chicago Tribune | 10/16/20 A large national study published Wednesday by the American Academy of Pediatrics provides some of the clearest evidence yet that child care centers don’t hasten the spread of the novel coronavirus, even in communities where overall infections are high. If We Had a Panic Button, We’d be Hitting it.’ Women Are Exiting the Labor Force En Masse—And That’s Bad For Everyone Time | 10/17/20 The United States is in the midst of a crushing economic recession, COVID-19 infection rates are spiking, & thousands of schools and childcare facilities have yet to reopen in-person classrooms. The group bearing the brunt of this torrent of bad news? Women. |
| IN THE STATES LOUISIANA Child care workers deserve their due The Advocate | 10/16/20 Much like the 40% of child care workers who leave the field each year, my grandmother also left her child care job after only nine months to seek better employment. This attrition rate dampens national and state efforts to continuously improve quality of care. LOUISIANA Louisiana to award $11 million in federal funding for child care providers during public health crisis BR Proud | 10/17/20 The Louisiana Department of Education announced it will award $11 million dollars in federal funding to child care providers. This money will be granted through the Louisiana Child Care Assistance Provider (LaCAP) relief. NEBRASKA Nebraska’s Child Care Problems Are Hurting Businesses and the State’s Bottom Line Star Herald | 10/17/20 Together, and only together, Nebraskans can rebuild the state’s struggling child care system, which is reeling during COVID-19. We can do it in a way that makes age-old problems, like a statewide shortage of quality child care, largely disappear. NEW JERSEY There’s a way to end child care deserts NJ.com | 10/16/20 A recent poll from the Nicholson Foundation further underscored what many parents in New Jersey learned through this lingering pandemic: Access to quality child care is limited because community-based, licensed child centers are struggling… NEW JERSEY N.J.’s child care nightmare could actually get worse. Here’s why. NJ.com | 10/19/20 The cost to run a child care center will remain elevated as long as COVID-19 safety precautions remain in place, according to new research. And many child care centers face a painful choice: Hike your prices or shut your doors. NEW YORK De Blasio promised child care for working families. Tens of thousands of slots are still missing. Chalkbeat | 10/18/20 More than 80,000 free child care slots promised to working parents with kids in hybrid-learning classes still haven’t materialized as the city scrambles to find spaces for its Learning Bridges program, records show. OHIO With CARES Act funding drying up, Ohio joins nation in finding new sources of child care support Highland County Press | 10/16/20 While child care centers are still in need of support to make it through the pandemic, Ohio was not alone in having to find more money beyond federal dollars amid the COVID-19 pandemic. OREGON Add COVID to a Childcare Desert and Women are left Jobless Corvallis Advocate | 10/18/20 Oregon Employment Department finds there is a significant difference between unemployment rates for men and unemployment rates for women, and lack of access to childcare in Oregon is fueling that. PENNSYLVANIA Families Need Child Care Resources Now More than Ever My ChesCo | 10/17/20 Families in Chester County are working harder than ever. COVID-19 has not only proven to be a public health crisis, but it has exposed the existing crisis for quality and affordable child care as well. TEXAS The importance of early childhood education TDT News | 10/17/20 By enrolling children in a Pre-K program, parents immerse them in an environment that stimulates their social-emotional, cognitive and language development. Exposing children to routine in a school environment and the delivery of high-quality academic instruction will help students focus on content and curriculum… |
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