Michigan faces child care “crisis”

It was already difficult for working parents to find child care before the pandemic began. Now it’s much, much worse.

As Michigan reopens for business after more than a year of COVID-19, workers are finding it more difficult than ever to find places to care for their children during the day. Kalamazoo area parents have already reported a severe lack of available spaces at existing daycare centers.

State officials say there are fewer centers still in operation than there were last year. Those that are still open are serving fewer children than before.

Ironically, a big problem facing child care centers is a lack of people willing to go back to work at childcare centers.

State leaders have hopes to help address the problem using COVID relief funds from the federal government. The state is set to receive nearly $1.5 billion to address child care issues.

Much of that money is expected to go toward helping parents afford child care in the first place. The rest would go toward “industry stabilization,” which could include efforts to boost pay for child care workers.

You can read the full story on Bridge Michigan.