The U.S. childcare industry has been crushed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the virus arrived in earnest in early 2020, about one-third of centers have closed and some 111,000 workers have departed the sector. To stem the bleeding, Congress allocated tens of billions of dollars, including $39 billion last March under the auspices of the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law by President Joe Biden. That package included $24 billion in grants to states meant to quickly help providers who were struggling to stay open.
But it’s taken the better part of a year for many states to even start the application process, let alone get cash to those in need. And now that money has become more important than ever: With the promise of a structural fix for the ailing industry on hold following the demise of Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan, those ARPA funds are all that stands between many providers and shutting down for good.
