COVID pandemic could make affordable Tri-Cities child care even harder to find

Berta Artiga’s childcare center in Pasco is down to four children, a third of the kids she normally cares for.

“I need to reopen my night shift,” said Artiga, who has been in childcare for 20 years. “Right now, I’m not receiving any calls from day shift.”

This is the case across the Tri-Cities, where more daycare centers are reopening, but finding they have several hundred spots empty as they wait for parents to return to work.

The concern among state officials and child care advocates is these pressures may end up forcing childcare centers to close or to raise prices.

Between Benton and Franklin counties 26 childcare centers remain closed compared to the start of the pandemic.

Many more are like Artiga and have empty spots in their centers — a total of 1,150 across the counties, according to Child Care Aware of Washington.

At the end of 2019, there were 268 child care providers in Benton and Franklin counties

But as workplaces return to having employees back at work, it’s unclear how many of the care centers will weather the storm.

Centers across the state have been feeling the strain from COVID-19, said Deeann Burtch Puffert. the CEO of Childcare Aware of Washington.

“I think the challenge is going to be how long can these businesses hold on,” she said.

Childcare changes

Along with losing money while waiting for parents to feel secure in returning their kids to childcare, centers have the added expense of helping school-aged children who are taking classes online.

The change has required many childcare centers to upgrade their internet connections, hire more staff and adjust how many students they can have at any one time.

Child Care Aware of Washington is part of a national nonprofit that is aimed at improving early childhood education.

At the moment, childcare providers across the state are already operating at 25 percent below their normal capacity, Burtch Puffert said.

Complicating a bigger problem

With many childcare centers already operating on thin margins, Burtch Puffert and others are concerned that this will exacerbate a shortage of childcare that existed before the pandemic.

The issue was highlighted in a recent report from the Washington Child Care Task Force. The organization reported the lack of affordable child care is affecting some 133,000 parents.

In Benton and Franklin counties, the task force reports more than half of the families don’t have access to affordable care.

The people who see the biggest impact are the families that make too much money to qualify for low-income programs, but not enough money to afford paying for childcare.

“Those families are in the toughest spot in finding child care spots they can afford,” Burtch Puffert said.

This is especially true for families looking for places for children up to 3 years old, where there has been a persistent shortage of services available.

The task force is concerned because since the pandemic started women have been leaving the workforce at a rate of four times as much as men. And the ratio is higher in communities of color, according to the Department of Commerce.

“We must invest in child care as essential infrastructure for strengthening Washington’s economy,” said Washington State Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “Lack of access to quality, affordable child care is forcing more families to make difficult and financially detrimental choices.”

Hope on the horizon

While advocates are looking for changes in how child care is subsidized, there is some immediate funding on the horizon in the form of the most recent federal stimulus bill.

Along with $2.6 billion for K-12 and higher education funding, there is $635 million coming to the state to support childcare providers, according to Sen. Patty Murray’s office.

“I think the wildcard is going to parents’ sense of safety and their perceived need for care,” Burtch Puffert said. “Those things make it hard to know whether we can spring back.”

In addition, older children, including college students, are still staying at home with their siblings, because they also are learning from home, Burtch Puffert said.

She expects they will have a clearer picture of how this will effect childcare in the long term by next fall.

Artiga, who survived her own bout with COVID-19, feels optimistic parents will return. She is holding at least one spot for a parent who lost a job and is looking for work.

“The good news is that we’re in this squishy unknown,” she said. “I do feel really hopeful that we’re going to land somewhere better in the not too distant future.”