NPR’s A Martinez asks Cindy Lehnhoff, director of the National Child Care Association, about the Trump administration’s freeze on federal funding to help low-income families pay for child care.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Child care providers across the U.S. say the administration’s move to freeze federal child care funding will be disruptive for kids, parents, providers and companies whose employees cannot work without child care. Now, for more insights into what providers face, we’ve called Cindy Lehnhoff. She’s the director of the National Child Care Association. Cindy, so after this week’s announcement by the Trump administration, what are providers telling you?
CINDY LEHNHOFF: Well, providers are extremely concerned, as they should be, that they are not going to be able to remain open if there are any delays in receiving their subsidized payments for the children that they care for that fall under the CCFD funding. And this will not just affect the 1.4 million children that are on subsidized care, but it’s very common for centers to serve subsidized care and working parents that are paying for care. So if the centers…
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
LEHNHOFF: …Are closed, you’re going to affect millions of children and families that rely on this essential service to work.
MARTÍNEZ: Is it fair to say that there might be a domino effect? So if there’s no center that’s open to take care of kids, parents who work maybe have to stay home from work. And then – I mean, and – you know what I mean? Like, a domino effect from there on could be disastrous.
LEHNHOFF: Oh, absolutely. We’ve already seen that, you know, the overall workforce in the United States, you know, is demanding more accessible and affordable child care because they need employees. So we already have a workforce shortage in the United States. And this will just, you know, compound it and take it to a level that I think many people, especially the decision-makers, are really overlooking and not anticipating.
MARTÍNEZ: The funding that has been frozen – how is that used, typically, by child care providers?
LEHNHOFF: Well, it’s used to pay rent. It’s – 70% of it is used to pay their employees. This is an industry that is very labor-intensive because of the low child-teacher ratios that are needed to keep children safe while they’re in care and in healthy environments. So this is going to keep them from, you know, paying their expenses. They’re small businesses. Ninety percent of the child care infrastructure in the United States are small businesses, and they live basically paycheck to paycheck.
MARTÍNEZ: So I was going to ask you, then – yeah. How long could they possibly go without this funding? I mean, how long could they stay open, or have you heard of any closing right off the bat?
LEHNHOFF: Well, we’re already dealing with closures due to things that are already happening. I mean, I’m sure that you’ve probably heard the term child care crisis. Parents are paying more than rent, you know, for child care. And we are having – child care’s having workforce shortages because we can’t compete with salaries that are paid to early educators and child care professionals in the public schools and in other service industries. So, you know, this is just compounding what is already…
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
LEHNHOFF: …A problem, and they’re not going to be able to survive. Most of them won’t be able to survive more than a month.
MARTÍNEZ: OK.
LEHNHOFF: And even then, it – you know, missing one payroll will…
MARTÍNEZ: Right. Yeah.
LEHNHOFF: …Take them out.
MARTÍNEZ: As far as you know, Cindy, has the Trump administration given states specific guidance on what they must do to get the funding turned back on?
LEHNHOFF: Well, they haven’t. And, you know, that’s a concern. This announcement was made on Wednesday. And the government agencies HHS and ACF, the Administration of Children and Family Services, you know, are closed until Monday. So it’s left, you know, the providers and families, you know, without adequate information of what really is going to happen. And I want to just really emphasize the fact that accountability is essential. But it comes – it has to come with a clear, workable federal plan that does not punish legitimate providers for failures of the federal and state governments to provide the oversight that is needed. And withholding funds from compliant providers will not fix fraud. It will destabilize an already fragile system.
MARTÍNEZ: Cindy Lehnhoff is director of the National Child Care Association. Cindy, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.
LEHNHOFF: Thank you.
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