The childcare crisis is about to get worse with 3.2 million kids set to lose care this fall - Insider

The childcare crisis is about to get even worse once pandemic-era federal stabilization funds end. Texas and New York could potentially see the largest number of kids lose spots in programs.

That’s based on a new report from the think tank The Century Foundation. The report highlighted what the end of the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, stabilization funds at the end of September means for families and childcare programs across the US. The Century Foundation found that about 3.2 million kids in the US may lose a childcare spot when these funds end, although the projected losses might not happen all at once. According to the new analysis, over 70,000 programs could close, which the report states is “one-third of those supported by American Rescue Plan stabilization funding.”

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Congress had been working on longer-term funding for childcare as part of their negotiations around a broad spending package known as Build Back Better. However provisions for universal pre-K and affordable childcare were cut from the eventual Inflation Reduction Act, per previous reporting from Insider. The new report stated that “the nation now faces a devastating child care cliff” after legislation that included increasing childcare opportunities didn’t pass the Senate.

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Texas could see the largest number of kids losing a childcare spot, with over 300,000 projected. However, it’s important to note that these losses might not happen all at once, as a spokesperson for The Century Foundation noted that childcare programs will try to hold on as long as they can by doing things like reducing staff and increasing tuition.

The report from The Century Foundation noted that even if the over 70,000 projected childcare programs closures because of the end of the stabilization funds don’t happen, “the losses to children will occur as a result of higher tuition that parents won’t be able to afford and fewer openings as a result of staffing shortages.”

The closures across the country could make it hard for households to find needed childcare support. Morning Consult survey results from June for The Century Foundation show over half of parents “who regularly pay” for care believe that it can take more than a month “to find a suitable child care alternative if current child care suddenly became unavailable,” a post from The Century Foundation about these results said.

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