Kindercare discovery preschool december parent newsletter how to#

Some care programs may even close.Įconomists say the impending rollbacks could hurt lower-income families and disproportionately impact mothers, who have returned to work at record rates since the pandemic and could soon be making tough decisions on how to handle childcare costs, which have risen faster than inflation for five straight months. When the funds expire, childcare providers will likely need to raise daycare costs for parents or lower staff salaries to make up for the lost grants. Now, with the funds set to expire, some Democrats and Republicans in Congress want subsidies for childcare to be extended or made permanent-though their proposals differ drastically on how much to spend, how to finance it, and which legislative vehicle to use. Over the last two years, the grants have been distributed to childcare providers and childcare centers by states, whereas in the past, federal support for childcare came mainly through block grants that states used to subsidize care for low-income parents. Lawmakers said the funding would help stabilize the industry when it dried up during pandemic-era lockdowns, a time when providers were struggling to stay afloat. Read More: What's Behind the Spike in Child Poverty in the U.S. At the end of 2022, the average grant award stood at $23,300 for family home providers and $140,600 for childcare centers. Some 220,000 childcare programs, the majority of which were family home providers, benefited from these grants, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

These funds were used by childcare providers to improve workers' compensation, cover expenses such as rent, mortgages, and utilities, and purchase personal protective equipment and supplies. The funding, part of the American Rescue Plan Act that congressional Democrats passed in 2021, included $24 billion in childcare stabilization grants, offering a financial reprieve to providers grappling with the multifaceted challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency childcare funding Congress allocated during the pandemic is set to expire at the end of the month, raising concerns for the millions of families and childcare providers who relied on it over the last two years.

Kindercare discovery preschool december parent newsletter how to#