More than a year into the pandemic, the Hechinger Report is looking at how the early education and care field is doing.

The verdict: despite hardships and heartbreak, there is also resilience and hope.

In its Early Childhood newsletter, Hechinger shares some details.

On program closings:

“Researchers estimated early on that the pandemic would devastate the already fragile child care industry, possibly causing up to half of all child care centers to close permanently. And while many centers have closed, new data from Child Care Aware of America (CCAOA) found the losses have been far less than anticipated. Among 15 states that are currently tracking the number of permanent child care closures, 3 percent of centers and 4 percent of family child care homes, on average, have closed—a percentage that could increase as states update their information and emergency funds run out.”

“ ‘It is our hope that some relief funds over the past year have helped to prevent the worst from happening in the child care system,’ ” Lynette M. Fraga, Child Care Aware’s CEO, in a statement. “ ‘But our research shows that permanent closures are real in many states and have started to have a measurable impact.’ ”

On enrollment:

“The report by Child Care Aware included data showing that child care attendance was down 32 percent in December 2020. Nationwide, many centers are still struggling to get up to pre-Covid enrollment numbers, possibly due in part to a shift in demand from cities to suburbs.”

On staffing:

“Many centers are also having problems finding qualified staff, meaning that if demand grows, they will be unable to enroll additional children. Open positions abound: 3 percent of jobs created in May were in the child care industry, according to recently published data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One survey of child care center owners in New Hampshire found an additional 2,000 children could be served in centers if staffing was no longer an issue.”

Hechinger also includes a list of recent child care news stories, including “Kalamazoo nonprofit provides health resources for preschool, pre-kindergarten teachers” and “Why did the child care teacher cross the road? To get to higher pay.”

 To learn more, check out the newsletter!