1.3. COVID-19 and Child Care

The coronavirus pandemic is emphasizing just how essential dependent care services are to the nation’s economy [25] . Without these critical services, frontline and other essential services personnel would not be able to work and fully focus on their key roles in addressing the COVID-19 crisis. In West Virginia, almost 30,000 frontline health care workers are parents of children under the age of 14 and likely need child care support during the crisis [26] . As a result, and in recognition of the importance of such services, all 50 U.S. states and D.C. have put into place emergency plans to allow child care for children of caregivers in essential services through the pandemic [27] .

In West Virginia, for example, during the Stay at Home Order, the state’s Emergency Preparedness Plan allowed certified and licensed child care programs serving children of essential workers to remain open by registering as a Temporary Critical Child Care Site, through the Department of Health and Human Resources [28]. However, child care programs caring for children of non-essential workers were to remain closed to minimize the spread of the virus [29].

The findings of a recent National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) survey concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child care providers suggest that without significant government funding, 43 percent of West Virginia child care programs would not survive a closure of any length of time and 13 percent would go out of business after closing for more than two weeks [30]. In comparison, nationally, 50 percent of respondents stated they would go out of business after a closure of more than two weeks. Additionally, 48 percent of West Virginia providers have lost revenue because they get reimbursed based on attendance and not enrollment in their programs and 70 percent have lost revenue because of families’ inability to pay. This economic impact on West Virginia child care providers will be felt for the foreseeable future.