Coronavirus Pandemic Could Lead to Permanent Loss of Nearly 4.5 Million Child Care Slots

From Center for American Progress, April 24, 2020.  Steven Jessen-Howard,  Simon Workman.

The response to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has shuttered businesses across the country. Child care providers are no exception. A recent survey from the Bipartisan Policy Center found that 60 percent of licensed providers have already closed and many of those that have remained open have reduced spaces or hours.

To better understand the impact that these potential closures would have on the child care system, this column presents new analysis using state-by-state National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) survey response data and Center for American Progress child care deserts data. This analysis estimates that if child care providers do not receive adequate support while they are closed for more than two weeks, roughly half of U.S. child care capacity is at risk of disappearing.