Article originally appeared on www.washingtonexaminer.com.
A pandemic-era child care investment is set to run out this month, threatening to upend preschools and day care facilities across the country and set back economic recovery touted by President Joe Biden.
After a $24 billion investment from Biden’s American Rescue Plan runs out, the ability for these entities to operate at the same level is expected to be stunted, and people who ventured back into the workplace after the peak of COVID-19 might be forced to leave those jobs due to unavailable or unaffordable child care.
The ARP’s investment helped stabilize the industry, which already faced concerns of inaccessibility prior to the pandemic. But now, one liberal think tank expects the investment’s depletion to lead to a collapse of much of the child care sector. When the investment dries up on Sept. 30, over 70,000 child care programs are expected to shutter, according to the Century Foundation. The organization estimated roughly 3.2 million children will be at risk of losing their spots at child care facilities.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.
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