As the child care industry rebounds, it might also be at risk

Dec 13, 2023
The end of billions in pandemic federal support for child care centers nationwide could worsen a shortage of workers and care.
“The number of payroll employees fully recovered in June of last year," said Julia Pollak of ZipRecruiter "Seventeen months later, employment in the child care industry still has not fully recovered.”
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

End to some pandemic-era child care subsidies could make hiring harder

Nov 6, 2023
Many child care providers used the funds to pay their staff. Now that the money is gone, it could affect providers’ ability to recruit and retain workers.
More than $37 billion in pandemic relief funds were awarded to hundreds of thousands of child care providers across the nation.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Families are paying an average of 30% more for child care than they did in 2019

Oct 31, 2023
Costs have reached new heights just as federal subsidies that helped providers cover staffing and other expenses come to an end.
While increased child care costs would normally result in more women leaving the workforce to take care of kids, remote work opportunities may change the equation.
Christian Ender/Getty Images

Food insecurity climbed in 2022 as pandemic aid ended

Oct 26, 2023
Nearly 13% of U.S. families struggled to put food on the table that year, according to the USDA — 5 million more households than the year before.
Nearly 5 million more households experienced food insecurity in 2022 than the year before. Above, a halal food distribution drive in Brooklyn.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Phasing out of pandemic-era federal aid for child care sparks alarm

Sep 22, 2023
A new report warns that the looming withdrawal of pandemic-era aid for childcare could hurt children and families.
More than 70,000 child care programs will likely close after they lose their federal pandemic aid, according to a recent report from the Century Foundation.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Once pandemic emergency protections end, millions likely to lose Medicaid

Jan 2, 2023
As many as 15 million people may lose Medicaid coverage after the pandemic emergency is formally declared over. But the government’s own projections show many of them will still qualify. They’ll just get hung up in the paperwork.
Patients at a low-income clinic in Nashville wait to be seen. During the pandemic, Medicaid programs were not allowed to drop patients, but income reviews will restart once the public health emergency ends.
Blake Farmer/WPLN