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Child care gets a boost in the new federal spending law, but advocates say it isn't enough

Mar 27, 2024
They say programs designed to help low-income families are only reaching a fraction of those eligible.
"We got this $1 billion increase that's going to help the [child care] programs that exist, but we need so much more," said the Century Foundation's Julie Kashen.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

Finding child care is tough for farming families. The next farm bill could help.

Jan 11, 2024
Most day care centers cater to parents with 9-to-5 jobs. New funding could help child care facilities expand their offerings.
Jamie Viramontes with her children, Cayden and Gracie, on their family farm in New Mexico. Local child care centers cater to people with 9-to-5 jobs, Jamie says.
Courtesy Jamie Viramontes

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.”
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Without federal subsidies, child care providers contemplate raising rates, and parents are worried

Nov 20, 2023
Everyone's adjusting now that pandemic-era federal subsidies have ended.
With pandemic relief funding gone, day care centers are considering raising their rates.
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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.
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In California, child care providers unionized for better pay and retirement benefits

Oct 31, 2023
California is one of 11 states that allows in-home child care providers to bargain collectively. This year, the union that represents 40,000 of these workers in that state won big in their fight for better pay and benefits. 
Patricia Moran plays with two children at her child care facility in San Jose on Oct. 2.
Beth LaBerge/KQED

For public good, not for profit.

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.
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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.
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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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