Introduction

A record $24 billion in pandemic investments has been propping up the nation’s child-care industry. Now, as that money runs out, parents and day-care centers are bracing for disruptions — and the economy is bracing for the ripple effects. 

Read more:

Even in the best of times, juggling work and child care can be a struggle. But as pandemic-era funding for child care dries up, an estimated 70,000 child-care centers are expected to close, leaving parents with even fewer — and less-affordable — options. 

“A lot of the resilience and the strength that we've seen in the economy in the last few years has been because of the strong labor market – because people are going back to work, and especially women and mothers in particular are really returning to the workforce at record levels,” economic correspondent Abha Bhattarai explains. “So there is a very real fear that as childcare becomes more difficult to access, more expensive to access, those women may be pushed out of the workforce.”