After two years of receiving federal subsidies, 220,000 child care programs across the country were cut off from funding Saturday, according to the Associated Press. The largest investment in child care in U.S. history, the monthly payments ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, and stabilized the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Providers say millions of children and their families are now at risk of losing vital child care service; without additional investment, they face the possibility of shutdown. The most at-risk providers are those in rural communities that predominantly serve low-income families.
As of May 2022, the median pay for a child care worker in the U.S. was $13.71, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. Wage growth in the industry has fallen behind other low-wage professions.
Many families and providers are calling on Congress to create a permanent funding solution to the crisis, warning of the ripple effects on the nation’s economy. A Democratic proposal failed last month without any Republican support. It would have continued the grants for five years with $16 billion allocated annually.
Starting in October 2021, Democrats’ American Rescue Plan Act disbursed $24 billion in payments to providers across the country, with varied funding based on program size and quality rating. The legislation also included $15 billion to expand the block grant program that subsidizes the cost of child care for low-income families, though it is set to expire in September 2024.
