ICYMI: COVID-19 Highlighted Childcare Problems—and Solutions
- BY FGA
Any parent can tell you: Childcare costs a pretty penny.
It’s gotten so bad that families with only one income spend about 32 percent of their income on childcare.
In a new paper for FGA, Scott Centorino outlines the way the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing problems in the childcare industry and highlighted opportunities for relief for parents and workers alike.
According to the paper, several states of varying partisan stripes took action to loosen restrictions to solve the “childcare crisis” of increased demand for childcare at a time when so many childcare workers were dropping out of the labor force. The governors in these states allowed for the waiver of licensure requirements, reexamined staff-to-child ratio requirements, and more.
With the pandemic over, there is still need for reform in the childcare industry. In his paper, Centorino describes the way group size limits, staff-to-child ratio requirements, and education requirements in particular unnecessarily restrict options, availability, and affordability for parents. By removing group size limits and making staff ratios more flexible—while still maintaining safety standards—and not requiring childcare directors and workers to have unnecessary postsecondary degrees, states can dramatically reduce costs and increase access.
To learn more about this issue, click here to read the paper in its entirety and learn more about FGA’s solutions for childcare here.
