Stability of Child Care Centers in Question with Funding Coming to an End

Friday, December 23rd, 2022 -- 10:01 AM

(By Jenny Peek, Wisconsin Public Radio) The COVID-19 pandemic brought an influx of funding to the nation's child care centers.

But, according to Jenny Peek with Wisconsin Pubilc Radio, those child care stabilization grants will soon be a thing of that past. This has some worried that the child care industry, already struggling with worker shortages, low wages and long waitlists, is on the brink of collapse.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children surveyed more than 12,000 early childhood educators from across the country in October 2022. The results show that relief helped many centers stay afloat during the pandemic, with one-third of respondents saying their program would have closed without funding.

Now, as relief comes to an end, many of those surveyed say the future looks bleak. Nationally, 43 percent of child care center directors and 37 percent of family child care providers said they'd have to raise tuition when the grants end, according to survey results.

Nearly a quarter of centers said their programs would lose staff and 27 percent of centers said they'd have to cut teacher wages. Upwards of 60 percent of child care center directors in the state who responded to the survey said they would have to raise tuition.

Thirty-four percent said they would have to cut wages or end salary increases for early childhood educators. Ruth Schmidt, executive director of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, said funding for child care needs to come from somewhere.

With federal funding ending, some centers may be forced to increase rates, or cut wages, but that has its own drawbacks, she said.

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