In response to the pandemic, Congress temporarily paused federal student loan and interest payments in March 2020, providing relief to millions of student loan borrowers, including child care providers. On August 30, 2023, the debt relief plan ended, and student loan payments restarted in October 2023. 

In 2024, RAPID and ReadyNation Washington partnered to hear from families with young children in Washington state. Data in this report complement a report earlier this year from ReadyNation Washington and Child Care Aware of Washington, The Economic Impacts of Insufficient Child Care Cost Washington State $5 Billion Annually, that looks at the impacts of child care on Washington’s economy, including parents, businesses, and taxpayers.

Child care providers are essential to meeting young children’s social, emotional, and development needs. To ensure that all families and children can access high-quality, reliable care, and that all child care providers can truly thrive, we need sustained investments in child care.

In this fact sheet, we summarize ongoing trends in key domains associated with the well-being of those who provide child care to children in the U.S.

This fact sheet summarizes what providers have shared about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) relief funds and what they expect the impacts to their program may be when the funds are no longer available.

This fact sheet outlines our findings about child care providers, their goals for homeownership, and barriers to affordable housing.

The child care system has never been adequately resourced, and decades of disinvestment have resulted in a weak and tenuous sector that pandemic closures, evolving demand, and staffing shortages have ravaged.

In a previous fact sheet, we described challenges that child care providers are facing during the pandemic. In Part 2, we delve further into how their lives are affected by food insecurity, economic hardship, and work schedule uncertainty.

American families rely heavily on child care providers, but providers have been struggling during the pandemic. This is taking a toll on their emotional well-being, which has the potential to adversely impact the care they provide.