COVID-19 Impact on Childcare

Childcare is a two-generation workforce issue, essential to support the workforce of today and vital to develop our workforce of tomorrow. Parents rely on childcare to help them enter, re-enter, or remain in the workforce, but access to affordable, quality childcare is hard to come by. Now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, families are experiencing additional challenges and finding childcare is nearly impossible.

At the same time, the majority of childcare across the country is provided by small business owners. Many of these businesses have closed temporarily due to health and safety concerns. For those businesses that are open, they now have increased operational costs to keep kids and staff safe but greatly reduced revenue due to capacity limitations. Parents are trying to balance childcare and work, childcare providers are trying to stay open or re-open with an unsustainable new business model, and employers are trying to determine how and when their working parents can return to work.

To better understand the impact of COVID-19 on childcare, we will seek to understand these challenges from every angle, including the revised childcare equations of parents, employer solutions, and childcare provider needs and capacity constraints. We'll be sharing new data accompanied by the stories behind those numbers over the next several months. The childcare challenges are persistent and complex--further complicated by this public health crisis. By understanding the diverse perspectives of those impacted, we can begin to identify solutions to recover together.

The Importance of Childcare to U.S. Families and Businesses

Piecing Together Solutions: The Importance of Childcare to U.S. Families and Businesses

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• 2/3

  Two out of three working parents have changed their childcare arrangement due to COVID-19, and the majority have yet to find a permanent solution.
• 75%

  of working parents have children under six years old staying at home, and only 10% are using childcare centers.
• 40%

  In June, 40% of employers were concerned that some of their employees would not fully return to work, and by October, 32% of employers had seen employees leave the workforce.

• >75

  Almost two-thirds of childcare centers are small businesses serving less than 75 children and are struggling to break even.
• 75%

  of working parents currently have children staying at home with a parent during work hours
• 60%

  of parents will need to change their current childcare arrangement within the next year

Employers and Returning to Work

Piecing Together Solutions: Employer Childcare Assistance Now and Looking Ahead

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• 32%

  of employers have seen some of their employees leave the workforce due to the effects of COVID-19
• 40%

  of employers have offered additional childcare accommodations, assistance, or benefits due to COVID-19