Aug 15, 2024
Upstate child care providers work to meet growing demand
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Child care slots are in short supply in the Upstate, leaving many families stuck on waiting lists for months on end and local providers exploring ways to meet the growing demand.
Apr 4, 2024
Child care’s employment crisis: Low pay, legal hoops make it hard to hire.
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The child care industry is facing an employment crisis. Thousands of workers left the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, providers are still struggling to find and keep employees.
Jan 20, 2024
Child care deserts in rural SC make it harder for families, children to succeed
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South Carolina’s insufficient supply of affordable, quality child care leaves rural parents with few options, making it harder for rural communities to thrive, experts say. Data collected before the pandemic shows that 42 percent of South Carolinians live in child care deserts — areas that have no child care providers or where there are more than three children in the community for every available licensed care slot.
Nov 28, 2023
S.C. lawmakers look to lift economy by easing child-care woes
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The lack of affordable, accessible and quality child care costs the state up to $1.4 billion a year, according to a report released Thursday from the nonprofit Council for a Strong America. It came as a new legislative committee focused on child care in South Carolina met for the first time Thursday in Columbia. Lawmakers say one of their primary concerns is how child-care problems affect South Carolina’s workforce.
Jul 5, 2021
State Snapshots of Potential Demand for and Policies to Support Nontraditional-Hour Child Care
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Demand for child care for parents who work early in the mornings, evenings, nights, and weekends is a concern for policymakers trying to increase access to child care. Families working these nontraditional-hour (NTH) schedules can face extra challenges finding child care, and public funds less often support the care arrangements they use. The child care crisis brought on by the pandemic has amplified the challenges of accessing NTH care and the impact of race on families’ risks and opportunities.