CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Starting Saturday, $24 billion in federal child care subsidies are drying up and will come to an end. Since the pandemic, smaller and in-home care facilities have utilized the funding to entice teachers with pay and keep the business running.
That in turn allows families to go to work. With no more money headed to care centers, child care experts are worried about the possibility of losing more of our labor force, especially during a time its already seeing a big decline.
Experts believe that once the funding stops, centers could be open one day and close the next.
That could happen within the next three to six months. With inflation at play, open positions at places and dwindling money to help run overhead costs mean that nearly 70,000 child care centers could close.
Natalie Boyle, founder of an in-home care nonprofit that specializes in finding resources for families and parents, said the impacts will be far reaching as well.
"People, mostly women in this day and age, are having to stop working because of the logistics of it all," Boyle said. "It doesn't make sense paying more for child care than what you're getting paid. These are the kind of decisions people are having to make. That's not right."
She advises parents to speak to the director or owner of the care center they take their children to and ask about challenges in the future or how the community might be able to help once funding ends.
Contact Colin Mayfield at cmayfield@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.