The Pennsylvania Women’s Health Caucus, in collaboration with Public Citizens for Children and Youth, recently sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf encouraging the administration to resume the COVID relief measure of calculating subsidy payments to childcare providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment rates as opposed to actual attendance figures.
The relief measure expired on Sept. 1. This has created a financial burden, the caucus said. Childcare providers have lost revenue from private-pay parents who withdrew their children as a result of the pandemic. Subsidies allowed providers to pay their rent and other fixed expenses.
According to Start Strong PA, 81 childcare providers in southeastern Pennsylvania reported nearly $1.4 million in losses during September alonedue tof the policy change.
The policy change negatively affects working mothers who rely on the childcare system to work. Additionally, most childcare programs are led by women.
“The childcare programs they run are an integral part of our communities and provide jobs for thousands in our neighborhoods,” the letter said. “If this policy is left unchanged, childcare providers will be forced to close permanently, stifling the economic recovery and exacerbating gender inequalities in the workforce. A collapsed childcare sector would take years if not decades to rebuild.”