By Lisa Scheid
Lancaster Online

The pandemic has exacerbated the lack of staff in a profession made up of mostly women. Low wages (in Lancaster County the median wage is $11 an hour) and lack of benefits are not new in child care, a workforce in the United States that has been trying to be treated and seen as professionals for decades.

HARRISBURG (April 12, 2022) – Child care providers and advocates gathered in the Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda this morning to release the results of a new survey showing that the historic child care staffing crisis- caused by low wages- continues to contract the capacity of Pennsylvania’s child care system. In response, advocates are calling on the General Assembly and the Wolf Administration to “Raise Child Care” by allocating $115 million in sustainable state and/or federal funds as part of the final state budget to provide a $2 per hour wage supplement for child care teachers and staff.

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By Mark Hiller
PA Live! Luzerne Local News

It’s no secret, early childhood centers are struggling to maintain and hire staff. Eyewitness News said on Wednesday how staffing at some centers has reached the crisis level.

Eyewitness news focuses on an effort to beef up the staff and help more families in need of childcare.

HARRISBURG, PA (February 9, 2022) – Today, the principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five, issued the following statements regarding Governor Tom Wolf’s 2022-23 state budget proposal. ELPA operates four issue-based advocacy campaigns: Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, Childhood Begins at Home and Thriving PA.

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By Fontaine Glenn
WJET/YourErie.com

What is becoming a national problem is happening right here in our area. The cost for child care centers has jumped nearly 50% during the pandemic and it’s having a huge affect on parents and local child care centers.

It’s no secret that finding child care is difficult, especially now in the midst of a pandemic. Not only is it hard for the child care centers, but also for the parents.

More than 25,000 children sit on wait lists, according to new survey; state and federal action desperately needed to stabilize and strengthen system

HARRISBURG (September 16, 2021) – A new survey conducted by partners of the Start Strong PA Campaign quantifies Pennsylvania’s current child care crisis, which threatens parents’ ability to work and the overall economy. The survey, conducted between August 30, 2021 and September 8, 2021, details the current child care staffing crisis in 1,163 Pennsylvania child care programs across 63 counties and its effects on working families' ability to access care.

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HARRISBURG (June 25, 2021) – The principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five, believes the Commonwealth’s economic recovery hinges on helping working families by prioritizing greater state investments in high-quality pre-k, child care and evidence-based home visiting.. ELPA operates four issue-based advocacy campaigns: Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, Childhood Begins at Home and Thriving PA. Reaction statements from three of these campaigns regarding the FY 2021-22 state budget follow:

HARRISBURG (June 10, 2021) – Start Strong PA hosted a virtual press conference to release recommendations for Pennsylvania’s $1.2 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) child care funding. The recommendations were developed with feedback gathered from over 1,000 child care providers and working parents as well as a statewide survey conducted in May 2021.

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HARRISBURG (May 28, 2020)— The anticipated stimulus deal between the Pennsylvania House and Senate authorizing the spending of most of the $3.9 billion in federal CARES Act funding includes substantial economic relief for the Commonwealth’s early learning sector.

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By Elliot Weinbaum and Rashanda Perryman
The Philadelphia Inquirer

This crisis has exacerbated issues that our city has been working to address for years, but there is more to be done. We all must act now — advocate for early childhood education, thank a teacher, contribute resources, time, and expertise to build the early learning sector — and continue to act when this plague has passed.

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 Miles Bryan
WHYY

….as child care providers across Pennsylvania closed their doors in response to Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown order last month, Godboldt, 37, had one big question on her mind — what should I do?

By Stephanie Dolivera
Penn Live

Finding and affording quality child care was a problem prior to this current crisis - often serving as a barrier to employment for many potential workers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recently estimated the economic cost of insufficient child care in Pennsylvania to be $3.5 billion annually.

By Lillian Mongeau
The Hechinger Report / USA TODAY

Dominated by small businesses, the country’s child care “system” has long been at a breaking point. Child care is expensive to operate and to provide, yet families are largely left to pay for it themselves while providers eke out a living on meager profits.

To make it through coronavirus-era closures and the economic downturn, providers say they need help.

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.

HARRISBURG, PA (March 24, 2020) – Principal partners of the Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA advocacy campaigns called for swift action by PA policymakers to save the state’s child care system. Advocates touted a recent survey by the Pennsylvania Child Care Association showing that of the 605 child care providers responding (serving more than 44,000 children across the Commonwealth), nearly one-third indicated that they would not be able to reopen if the state mandated closure lasts for longer than one month.

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…

By Ed Mahon
PA Post

Child care providers across Pennsylvania face a choice in response to the state’s efforts to halt the spread of the coronavirus: Close their doors, or seek permission to stay open.

Both options present risks.

By Bill Hangley
WHYY

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.