Alison McCook
The Philadelphia Inquirer

This week, we will reach the edge of the so-called childcare cliff, when the pandemic-driven infusion of federal funds to save the childcare industry runs out. An estimated one in three childcare programs in the country — or 70,000 — may have to close their doors.

In Pennsylvania alone, nearly 3,000 programs are set to shut down, leaving 150,000 kids with nowhere to go. For many families, this may not be a big deal — they make a few calls, find another nearby place that has space for a new child, and after an adjustment period, everyone settles in to a new routine.

The Editorial Board
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Without federal action, three million children in America could abruptly lose access to childcare at the end of the month, a development that could push many parents — including, experts say, a disproportionate number of women — out of the workforce.

Roughly $37 billion in pandemic-era stabilization grants — which have ensured financial access to childcare for families — will lapse on Sept. 30, leaving families with no guarantee of continued care.

Eva Wood - Ligonier; Erin Schellenberger - Latrobe
Trib Review

The child care staffing crisis, caused by the sector’s low wages, is rapidly diminishing working families’ access to child care. Unfortunately, programs all across Pennsylvania are closing classrooms and further limiting families’ options as they look for a safe, high-quality learning environment for their child while they work.

Across Pennsylvania there are thousands of families sitting on waiting lists. This impacts the workforce in every other Pennsylvania industry. Child care teachers are the workforce behind the workforce, and we are failing them.

The Sharon Herald

ALONG with being first lady, Jill Biden is also a teacher, and she once observed, “Teaching is not a job. It’s a lifestyle. It permeates your whole life.”

And it seems to be a lifestyle fewer and fewer young people are willing to adopt.

The United States is in the midst of a teacher shortage, and in Pennsylvania the situation has been described as “dire and worsening.”

There has been a 67% drop in the number of new educators who have become certified over the last decade, and in the 2020-21 school year the number of emergency permits issued to individuals to take teaching jobs exceeded the number of new teaching certifications from in-state programs.

By Brenda Castellano
Reading Eagle

It’s tough for smaller child care businesses such as mine to pay staff what larger organizations are paying. Trying to compete with these organizations hurts the centers and owners, and we make sacrifices. This is why we are advocating for our legislators to invest in our industry like they do in the agricultural and energy sectors.

By Erin Schellenberger and Eva Wood
Triblive.com

The Ligonier Valley Learning Center has never had the staffing challenges it has today in the 38 years it has been in operation. While there are other businesses also struggling to recruit and retain staff, our industry supports the workforce of every other industry. If parents don’t have access to child care, they cannot work. If they aren’t available to work, businesses can’t hire them.

By Mai Miksic
Daily Local News

This Mother’s Day, while I am appreciating the gifts my children and husband get me, I am also longing for a society that supports motherhood and honors mothers’ valuable contributions. Here’s my shortlist of things I want for Mother’s Day, not just for myself, but for all moms.

By Ibis Fernando
Lehigh Valley Live

If I have to close my doors permanently, how will the families that relied on me to care for their children be able to return to work? I urge my legislators to include childcare in the stimulus package. The health of our economy depends on these funds.

By Emily Hartman
Reading Eagle

…Once we are past this health crisis and businesses reopen, child care will be needed more than ever in order to help restore our workforce and economy.

By Gail Reaser
Lehigh Valley Live

My business partner and I have owned and operated The Children’s Garden for 16 years. Since this time we’ve achieved and maintained a Star 3 rating, which designates high-quality child care in Pennsylvania. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, like so many of my colleagues in early learning who are also small business owners, we’ve had to close our child care center.

By Kate Giammarise
Pittsburgh Post Gazette

The system is “truly at a breaking point,” said Cara Ciminillo, executive director of Pittsburgh-based advocacy organization Trying Together, speaking Tuesday on a conference call with reporters.

Providers are being hammered by a combination of an already fragile infrastructure and staffers who often earn low wages…