In 2018, the Center for American Progress (CAP) developed an online calculator that estimated a child care center’s cost per child when one or more quality indicators are selected (e.g., lower provider/child ratios, bigger classrooms, etc.). High-quality child care requires additional investments and costs providers more money to deliver. One reason quality is important: Research shows that children who attend high-quality programs have more positive long-term outcomes. The benefits include higher rates of graduation from high school, higher income, better physical health and stronger families. The outcomes also benefit the country, because they’re associated with lower crime rates, a stronger economy and healthier communities.Ĭase Study: Cost to Provide Quality Child Care in Portland, Oregon Our survey results indicate that nationwide, 63% of center-based programs and 52% of FCC providers participate in QRIS. Furthermore, only 9% of child care centers and just 2% of family child care homes are accredited. While there’s an abundance of programs that acknowledge the importance of quality, their participation in formal quality recognition programs remains low. States recognize quality child care programs in multiple ways. Many states have a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), similar in concept to a rating system for restaurants. There are multiple QRIS levels, and each is associated with a defined set of program standards. States also recognize providers who become accredited through early childhood organizations such as the National Association of Young Children (NAEYC). Accreditation can be a rigorous process. Some parents are reaching out to local child care providers. Parents need someone to supervise their children’s learning while they work, whether from home or at their workplace. But older children often need child care, especially with the dramatic increase in distance learning because of COVID-19. Most research focuses on child care for children under age 6. Those numbers were calculated before COVID-19. The economy lost $7 billion in income taxes as a result of the reduced earnings of working parents.Businesses lost $13 billion due to lower revenues stemming from reduced productivity and increased costs for recruitment.Working parents lost $37 billion in income because of reduced productivity on the job and more time spent looking for work.They found that the nation’s child care crisis cost Americans $57 billion a year: In 2018, the group studied the economic impact of insufficient child care on working families and businesses. Ready Nation represents more than 2,600 business executives dedicated to promoting public policies and programs that build a stronger workforce and economy. The amount is now likely higher because of COVID-19. The child care crisis cost Americans $57 billion a year in 2018.
#PICKING UP THE PIECES FULL#
This online, interactive version of the report features select material from the full report, which you can download below. Picking Up the Pieces is organized into three chapters that explore the impact of COVID-19 on: With that additional information, we were able to compare the child care system pre- and mid-pandemic. It includes the 2019 data that typically would be included in fall reports, as well as data and stories collected as recently as July 2020. However, the data from last calendar year (2019) did not reflect the reality of the massive changes in the child care system because of COVID-19. So, we went a step further and gathered as much 2020 data as we could. Both reports relied on data from the previous calendar year gathered from CCR&Rs across the country. and the High Price of Child Care compares child care affordability among states.
State Fact Sheets explore child care supply, child care resource and referral agency (CCR&R) activities and quality initiatives in each state. Why Picking Up the Pieces?ĬCAoA usually releases two major reports in the fall that examine the child care landscape. And a reliable workforce requires a functioning child care system. Simply put – no child care, no recovery. Without a reliable, steady workforce, this country will not recover economically from the pandemic-related shutdown. We’re already seeing the consequences: Parents are struggling to find child care arrangements that will allow them to work productively, either from home or back in their workplaces. When COVID-19 was layered onto the already fragile child care system, it shattered. Today, many providers are in danger of closing their doors because their attendance and enrollment (and therefore their income) plunged and/or their expenses skyrocketed due to pandemic-related costs. The child care industry has now shattered completely. The child care system was fragile before COVID-19.
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