Child care is about to get even more expensive as pandemic funds end

Aug 17, 2023
Already, child care inflation is running nearly double the rate of overall inflation.
When pandemic funding runs out in September, experts expect even higher costs for child care.
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Some districts are trying year-round school to alleviate learning loss

Jun 15, 2023
But having some students on a different schedule comes with challenges both societal and economic.
There’s an idea that year-round schooling prevents what educators call “summer melt:” forgetting fractions or nouns over the summer.
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Child care is a challenge for the many parents with unpredictable work hours

Jun 12, 2023
Nearly a third of parents don’t know their schedule more than two weeks in advance, and more than 25% need child care outside of traditional work hours.
More than a quarter of parents need care outside of traditional working hours, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. But that can be difficult to find.
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California wants more women in construction. Child care grants will help.

Jun 7, 2023
The state is awarding $25 million in grants to get more women into construction apprenticeships that can lead to high-paying jobs.
Tamarra Hayward receives a certificate of completion after a six-week pre-apprenticeship training program on March 30.
Beth LaBerge/KQED

Five child care workers on the joys and frustrations of a struggling industry

Mar 30, 2023
Staffing shortages and high turnover have dogged the early education and child care field for years. The pandemic has made them acute issues.
From left to right: Bernadette Davidson, Kiya Savannah, Vanessa Pashkoff, Kimberly Artez and Anna Rogers.
Robin Lubbock/WBUR

The global economic cost of gender inequality in the workplace? $7 trillion per year

Mar 6, 2023
A new study finds that more women in the workforce — and fewer roadblocks to their success — could grow the global economy significantly by boosting productivity.
Actions like lowering child care costs could lower the barriers to women entering the workforce.
Jaime Reina/AFP via Getty Images

Day cares continue to hire, but number of caregivers is well below pre-pandemic levels

Dec 2, 2022
Child care is critical if more parents are going to return to work.
A scarcity of open spots in day care programs can prevent parents from returning to the workforce.
Kurt Desplenter/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How a Buffalo child care center saved itself by closing temporarily

Nov 25, 2022
The worker-owned co-op shut down in the spring due to staffing shortages. It reopened by raising wages and tuition.
A classroom at The Rose Garden Early Childhood Center. The worker-owned co-op closed down to revamp its pricing and wage structure.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

A child care shortage is making it difficult for many mothers to return to full-time work

Oct 7, 2022
That's a big reason why so many women remain on the sidelines of the labor market.
The "care economy" is a crucial, yet severely undervalued, part of our economy, Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell argues. Above, an empty kindergarten classroom.
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Women's return to work a stop-and-start struggle

Oct 6, 2022
The availability of affordable child care is limiting mothers' options for returning to full-time work after the pandemic.
Stable, affordable child care remains a persistent barrier to women reentering the workforce.
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