Child care providers are still battling the same issues they have been attempting to solve since even before the pandemic hit. Two years after the pandemic and they’re in a worse position as ever. Even when Omicron cases are starting to dwindle, the childcare industry is still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels in terms of business, income, and staff numbers.

Child masking to lessen center/daycare closures

While higher staff-to-child ratio is something childcare providers already grapple with, temporary closures are even a bigger threat to business continuity and income flow. Recently, a Yale study confirmed that child masking is strongly associated with fewer child care closures. Not only does this mean a safe environment for young ones to be in, it also means there’s fewer disruptions in the children’s learning and development. It also helps boost employee morale and lessen their stress when they know their work environment isn’t a potential source for infection which they can bring home to their families.

Partnering with nearby businesses

As child care providers find a new competitor in the form of business-sponsored childcare, child care businesses are better leveraged if they were to partner with nearby small businesses whose workers need childcare. This way, they have guaranteed income and clients. Small to medium enterprises can also help augment the pay and extend benefits such as health care insurance.

Apply for grants available to childcare providers

While most childcare providers are usually full in terms of children cared for, the high staff-to-ratio still limits childcare businesses’ profit. A lack of staff also keeps classrooms closed and potential income capped and restricted artificially.
According to a poll, child care providers are not even operating at break even.
But as they continue to operate at a loss, it threatens the business’ capacity to stay open.
To augment this, stabilization grants and other federal funding have been created to provide childcare businesses more room to deal with high operating costs and low enrollment rates.
The childcare industry is what allows the American economy to keep running. However, as centers close, this not only means a business ceasing to operate. Instead it produces a ripple effect in forcing a dual-income family to rely on a single income, takes away a productive member of the workforce who usually is the mother, and reduces the overall productivity rate not only for the community or state but the whole country.

While the pandemic might end, its effects on the childcare industry might be felt for years, if not decades to come, especially affecting the overall state of the economy. With these strategies, childcare providers can make the best efforts in staying afloat despite the circumstances they’re currently in.