Childcare closures challenge working families

As of late July, more than 200 of the roughly 7,000 childcare centers in Pennsylvania had closed permanently, with an additional 100 centers reporting that they planned not to reopen. The state’s Department of Human Services (DHS) held a virtual press conference in partnership with the Institute of State and Regional Affairs (ISRA), based at Penn State Harrisburg.

DHS Secretary Teresa Miller and ISRA Professor Philip Sirinides, who worked on a report about childcare challenges over the past five months, answered questions about what these childcare closures mean for working families. The report is available online (https://www.dhs.pa.gov/coronavirus/Documents/PA_COVID_IMPACT_FINAL.pdf).

Unfortunately, the survey data were collected in April and May, prior to the July 3 “universal masking order” issued by the Department of Health, as well as mandatory six-foot distancing requirements that DHS had told reporters on June 2 did not apply to daycare centers. Costs detailed in the report, then, are likely underestimated, and some daycare centers may be challenged to reopen at all, given the financial necessity of operating very close to physical capacity, and the extreme difficulty of doing so while maintaining six-foot distancing.

Secretary Miller revealed the alarming fact that “[w]ithout immediate assistance to offset costs, it’s estimated that 4 percent (280 centers) will close immediately, with another 1,000 at risk of closure.” These impending closures are in addition to the 200-plus daycare facilities that have already decided to close. Eligible providers received roughly $51 million in CARES Acts funding in June, with another $53 million paid out in July.

With $116 million coming in a third round of CARES funding at the end of August or beginning of September, DHS will use the results of the ISRA study to inform distribution of these additional funds. Secretary Miller added that at least 700 families across the state are on waiting lists for childcare.

The ISRA study measured costs that were experienced by all childcare providers, and that had sufficient available data to be measured. The resulting costs are not inclusive of all costs childcare facilities are facing as a result of Gov. Wolf’s mid-March business shutdown, but represent four areas. Three of the areas are facilities (leases and mortgages that must be paid regardless of enrollment), personnel (two weeks’ worth of payroll), and the added costs of COVID-19 mitigation regulations. The fourth area is more of a lens through which to view costs: the financial strain of operating at a hypothetical five-sixths enrollment.

The figures cited by PSU Professor Philip Sirinides represent different ranges of time. For facilities, the cost of $56 million is for the 14 weeks from the beginning of the shutdown through the point in June when all but six Pennsylvania counties were “green.” The personnel cost of $63 million is for two weeks of payroll, which represents the cash a center would need in order to reopen.

The additional COVID-19 health and safety costs amount to $22 per child per week. The financial strain of under-enrollment – $89 million –was calculated for the 14 weeks between the June “green” date and Labor Day.

Professor Sirinides acknowledges, “It’s difficult for us to estimate the level of under-enrollment and the associated costs.” DHS and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) hope to have better attendance data by October.

Regulation changes required to facilitate virtual education

During the call, a reporter from WOLF-TV (Fox 56 in Wilkes Barre) pointed out, “A lot of our school districts are virtual, and parents are scrambling to find childcare,” asking OCDEL Deputy Secretary Tracy Campanini to address the strain on the currently open childcare centers. Campanini revealed the rarely cited state regulation that childcare centers are not permitted to serve school-aged children during the typical school day, a rule that is likely to change.

“There may be many families,” Campanini said, “that were not expecting to have childcare expenses for a portion of, or the entire week. We’re trying to issue some clarifying communications to parents and providers in the field. It is another very critical topic to address as well.”

Pa. Title 55, Subsection 3270.241 provides the regulations for childcare for children of school age. Although the wording of the first sentence of the statute implies that children who are enrolled in public or private school, but are attending that school only virtually, are not barred from childcare, details of the subsection impose additional responsibilities on childcare providers serving school-aged children for more than 15 hours per week, a threshold that would certainly be crossed in a district like BASD, with three days of online instruction planned for this fall.

In response to a question from the Press about whether the details of Title 55, Subsection 3270.251 would change, DHS stated, “In order to support working families who may need care during schools’ scheduled remote learning days, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and DHS are working on to clarify flexibilities for school age child care in licensed and unlicensed programs. Further guidance on this is being finalized and will be issued soon.”

Hard-hit Lehigh Valley helped by local franchises

In the Lehigh Valley, 44 percent of households do not have a parent at home to supervise children during the work week, according to U.S. Census data analyzed by researchers at SmartestDollar (https://smartestdollar.com/research/cities-without-stay-at-home-parents-2020); the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area ranks 20th on the list of mid-sized metro areas in this respect.

BASD-based childcare is available, but due to hybrid scheduling and newly instated six-foot distancing requirements, not every family will be accommodated this year. In an Aug. 18 letter to district families, Supervisor of Childcare Angela Kukitz explained to families the selection process.

“Students who are signed up for the e-Classroom will not be assigned Child Care. Priority was then given to families who previously registered for care for the upcoming school year. We also took into consideration families who completed the Child Care Inquiry Survey, keeping siblings together, offering care to children enrolled in early grades to provide them with support as they are entering their first school experience, and other factors as well. Lastly, in cases where space is not available at the home-school Child Care sites, all-day care will be offered at another BASD elementary school so we can serve as many students as possible.”

To fill the childcare gap – which is now also an early learning gap – national childcare and early learning chains with local franchises have stepped up to offer support for children doing “virtual” education without stay-at-home parents.

Lightbridge Academy, which has Lehigh Valley campuses at the Madison Farms shopping center in Bethlehem Township, on Linden Street in Bethlehem, and on Cetronia Road in Allentown, is offering a remote learning support program this fall. Employees at these preschool/daycare franchises are prepared to provide assistance with online learning for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with half-, full-, and extended-day schedules.

Like every other childcare facility, Lightbridge has a finite number of openings that has been made even smaller by the six-foot distancing requirements suddenly applied to daycares in early July; however, as of Aug. 18, spaces were available.

Sylvan Learning is also marketing its services to working families struggling to cope with virtual and hybrid education. According to materials from the company, “Sylvan Learning will have in-person support at many centers to help families while children are not in school. For example, Sylvan will offer sessions at physical locations where teachers can help children log in to Zoom lessons or offer assistance on assignments.”

A press release quotes CEO John McAuliffe’s statement that “School Support at Sylvan will ensure that children get the most out of virtual education through a socially distanced, safe environment where parents can receive the aid of a qualified professional.”

Sylvan has two Lehigh Valley locations: one on William Penn Highway in Palmer Township, and one on Tilghman Street in Allentown.

Dept. of Health going overboard with daycare regulations?

The Penn Capital-Star asked whether childcare centers have been a driver of community transmission. Deputy Secretary Campanini cited the readily accessible webinars and available person-to-person training on sanitization and other mitigation practices her department provides. She directed the reporter to the OCDEL website (https://www.dhs.pa.gov/providers/Providers/Pages/Coronavirus-Licensed-Facility-Data.aspx), which shows that only 88 children and 130 staff members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the beginning of the epidemic in March, figures that are particularly notable given that through the end of June, six-foot distancing was not required, and face coverings were required for staff only.

In addition to survey results, the ISRA report includes selected quotations from childcare providers interviewed by the team from Penn State Harrisburg. Some providers remarked on the dilemma of charging enough to stay open versus keeping rates stable for families facing job losses and hour cuts.

Many commented on what they saw as the borderline unworkability of face covering and social distancing recommendations (which later became requirements). One provider asserted, “I know that the suggestions that they’re putting forth are completely ridiculous. As far as my situation is concerned, I have four children age 4 to 1. I can guarantee they will not be wearing masks.”

Another childcare provider noted, “I’m worried just about how children are going to be receptive to the regulations that are going to be in place. The young children that I work with, that is one of the main ways they learn language, seeing facial expressions. If they can’t see our facial expressions, I worry about how that’s going to impact them.”

Another provider mentioned that social distancing could harm the relationships her center has with its families.

“I think the social/emotional part of it needs to really be brought into it because when they come back, it’s not only the children, it’s the families and the relationships I think that are very important between me and them, between my teachers and them. I mean, though we have tried to keep that going, being able to give a hug is not able to happen. And I think it’s going to be a bit of a challenge.”