America is headed for a “child care apocalypse” if Congress is unable to avert a federal government shutdown that could begin as early as this weekend.
With less than 48 hours until federal funding lapses, both sides remain far apart on how to pass a spending package that would reauthorize federal spending. Failure to strike a deal would also halt subsidy money for child care providers, who say a shutdown could derail the industry.
“It’s going to be a child care apocalypse,” Jordyn Rossignol, who used to run a child care center in northern Maine before shuttering operations due to rising costs, told NBC News. “If someone came to me today and said they wanted to open up a child care center, I’d say, ‘Don’t do it.’ I was in debt, and my health was suffering.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress approved unprecedented levels of spending to stabilize the sector, support more than 220,000 child care programs—80 percent of U.S.-licensed child care centers—stay afloat and deliver care for 9.6 million children, the Biden administration said. The tens of billions of dollars in child care funding, issued as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plant Act that Congress passed in March 2021, will expire Saturday by midnight.
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It’s been estimated that when the child care stabilization grant program lapses on September 30, more than 70,000 child care programs across the nation are projected to close, according to an analysis by The Century Foundation. That means about 3.2 million children could lose child care this week.
Advocates have referred to the expiration of the program as the “child care cliff,” citing the issues that have long faced child care in America, such as steep costs for parents, low wages for workers and difficulty retaining those employed in the sector.
“As the child care funding cliff—the end of federal child care stabilization dollars that have been a lifeline for the sector—hits at the same time as the end of the fiscal year, child care providers are aiming to do everything they can to stay open as vital resources run out,” Julie Kashen, director of women’s economic justice and senior fellow at The Century Foundation, told Newsweek.
“The same can’t be said of Speaker McCarthy and GOP leaders in the House about keeping the government open. With 3.2 million children at risk of losing their child care as a result of the child care funding cliff, Congress should be focusing on what families need and what will keep the economy prospering instead of a GOP shut-down that serves no one.”
The progressive think tank warned that the closure of child care centers could have dire “ripple effects” not only for parents or businesses, but also the U.S. economy as a whole.
While recent economic reports show steady job growth and low unemployment in the U.S., advocates argue that a loss of child care will result in fewer parents in the workforce. With nowhere to place their children while they’re at work, more families may need to cut back their work hours or leave their jobs. In turn, less work will result in less income, forcing parents to tighten their spending, which could disrupt post-pandemic economic recovery.
“There was a child care crisis even before the pandemic—and failing to extend these critical investments from the American Rescue Plan will push child care even further out of reach for millions of families and jeopardize our strong economic recovery,” Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington said in a statement this month.
“This is an urgent economic priority at every level: child care is what allows parents to go to work, businesses to hire workers, and it’s an investment in our kids’ futures,” added Murray, who co-sponsored the Child Care Stabilization Act. “The child care industry holds up every sector of our economy—and Congress must act now.”
The Democrat-led bill would provide $16 billion in mandatory funding annually for the next five years toward the Child Care Stabilization Grant program.