For example, when China started allowing U.S. That's according to a book by author Erich Schwartzel. But in order for movies to be shown in China, filmmakers often have to self-censor. There's a practice in Hollywood of film studios relying on the Chinese market to break even. President Joe Biden has called for expanded child care support, but his biggest proposal stalled amid a polarized Congress and Democratic infighting.This is FRESH AIR. child care in 2022 was $10,800 per child, according to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit advocacy group. Yet demand has remained high, pushing programs to raise prices and, in some places, resulting in child care “deserts” where demand far exceeds available spots. The number of providers has been on the decline for years as workers fled the industry and its persistently low pay. In the first two years of the pandemic, about 20,000 programs closed, roughly the equivalent of 10% of pre-pandemic levels, The Century Foundation said.īut even before then, the industry was struggling. The money was seen as a steadying hand for an industry that badly needed it. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen to a lot of programs,” she said. Without more relief, she figures her center will close within a year. Davis had to lay off one worker, leaving her with just one other. Still, inflation and safety costs have taken a toll. “It really was a breath of fresh air for a lot of us, because those dollars gave me money I could put back into my savings and my retirement,” she said. She was nearing the end of her savings when she received about $70,000 in federal grants and other relief. Davis used her personal savings to pay staff and buy safety supplies. When the economy stalled, income stopped coming in. The grants helped Cynthia Davis keep her child care center open through the pandemic, serving eight children at her home in Washington, D.C. It helped more than 220,000 programs, often being used to pay staff or cover rent and utilities, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. States were given a total of $24 billion to distribute to local programs. Hoping to buffer the industry against the upheaval of the pandemic, Congress created a child care stabilization program in 2021. In total, the programs in jeopardy serve about 3.2 million children. Article contentĪrkansas, Montana, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., are at risk of seeing half their licensed programs close, the think tank reported. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Either way, the last of it must be spent by Sept. States distributed the aid in different ways, and many providers already have spent their grants.
That amounts to a third of all programs that received the federal pandemic grants. Catherine Clark of Massachusetts.Ī June report from The Century Foundation found that without additional money, about 70,000 child care programs would probably have to shut down after this month. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a sponsor of the bill. “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,” said Sen.
For many, the federal aid only postponed the financial turmoil that threatened their survival before the pandemic. Without a new lifeline, child care programs serving millions of families could close or increase prices. With no Republican support, the bill faces an uphill battle in Congress.
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