Operating a child care center was never a big money-maker in the best of times, but running one during a pandemic is basically like taking a bunch of money and setting it on fire.
“It’s like I’m working for free,” Cole told HuffPost. “I give myself two or three months. If it doesn’t go back to what it was, I’ll have to close down or drastically cut it to two or three kids.”Parents around the country are wondering when it will be safe to send their kids back to day care, but soon they might not even have the choice. Many child care centers, even the ones that are open now, may not be around much longer.
But these are pandemic times. About 60% of child care centers are shut down entirely. These businesses operate on thin margins, relying primarily on tuition from parents. “Our nation’s child care system is on the brink of collapse, with serious implications both now and in the future,” reads the letter. “Without sufficient relief, there will not be a child care system to return to as we look to rebound from this crisis.”
The organization pivoted to handle child care for essential workers during the crisis ― 1,071 centers are still open, fewer than half ― but the money coming in is a fraction of what it was before. And like everyone else, individual centers are seeing higher costs and reduced revenues. Child care is an industry that has long been overlooked and undervalued. Taking care of young children — “women’s work” — hasn’t been seen as skilled labor. And when caring for children finally did become more of an occupation, it was something done by women of color in the homes of more affluent middle-class or higher-income white women.
It’s primarily made up of small private operators like Cole, who works from her home. Close to 90% of the industry is private. But there are also large nonprofit players like the YMCA and a couple of big for-profits like Bright Horizons, which services the employees of big companies.
Every day I learn about how the pandemic is impacting different industries I never considered. This is one of them.
Parents should take care of their children