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Friday, March 26th, 2021

The precarious state of American child care

Author:     Anna North
Source:     Vox
Publication Date:     Mar 25, 2021, 2:40pm EDT
 Link: The precarious state of American child care
Stephan:   You can tell the quality of a culture, a society, by the way it treats its young and its elderly. History over thousands of years makes that clear. The United States scores very badly in both categories. The good news, as this story, describes is that Biden, Harris, and their administration seem to be genuinely committed to fostering wellbeing in important ways. The bad news is the Republicans are doing everything in their power to block this, and the pandemic has made the task monumental.
A child care provider with a child, both wearing masks, beneath signs that say “Love.”
Family day care provider Deborah Corley Marzett.

Deborah Corley Marzett hasn’t missed a day of work since the pandemic started.

When supplies like toilet paper and paper towels were scarce, the family child care provider was up before dawn to stand in line at the store. When schools were closed and older children started to come to her for remote learning, she bought new tables and upgraded her internet so they could Zoom into their lessons. When Covid-19 brought new ventilation requirements, she enclosed her porch to build a safe place with plenty of airflow where kids could play.

But none of this came cheap. The internet alone costs $100 a month, Marzett told Vox. And getting financial help has been a constant struggle. When she went to apply for a PPP loan, just getting information from the bank was difficult. She did eventually receive a small business loan, but she’s afraid to touch the money: “I can’t afford to pay that loan back,” she said.

For in-home providers like her, “for every dime we make, it goes into supporting our […]

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