Pennsylvania officials know what’s at stake, she said. “The state is extremely interested in maximum liquidity for child care providers,” Cooper said. “They know we need the sector up and operating for when people get back to work.”

But the child care sector is very vulnerable to disruption, Cooper said. Centers typically rely on multiple funding streams, including government payments to families and providers in low-income areas, as well as unsubsidized “private pay” customers, most of whom have been told to stay home from work.

With those private-pay dollars draining away, providers could easily be forced to close their doors if the shutdown grows lengthy, Cooper said.

Because the government is paying so little toward child care compared to its real cost, “nobody’s got any margin here,” she added. “Providers have no idea how they’re going to pay their staff or pay their rent if any [customer] in the center was private pay. That’s the income that covers the last dollar needed. Remember, nobody’s getting rich running a child care program.”