Opinion: How to fix America’s broken child-care industry

Many sectors are reeling from massive labor shortages — but few affect families more intimately than what is happening with childcare. With lengthy waiting lists and soaring costs, the scale of the crisis is obvious. Less clear is how the country can quickly fix it. First, the problem: Like other caregiver industries, childcare was hit hard by covid-19. There are nearly 90,000 fewer child-care workers today than in February 2020 — an 8.4 percent reduction in the workforce. According to a February 2022 report by Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit association, nearly 16,000 programs in 37 states shut down during the pandemic. With birthrates rebounding and millions of workers returning to the office, these closures have placed enormous pressure on parents.