Teetering on the edge of a ‘child care cliff’

How much do you pay for child care? For most families, that answer is more than $10,000 a year.

Now, child care for millions of families, including right here in Southwest Florida, could be at risk. If Congress doesn’t act soon, billions of dollars in federal funding will expire on Saturday.

Pandemic emergency relief funds that helped thousands of childcare centers pay their staff, upgrade facilities and help keep costs low for parents has been scheduled to end on Sept. 30.

The law was passed in 2021, during the pandemic and provided $24 billion for childcare providers.

Some lawmakers and childcare advocates warn that if it expires, millions of children in this country could be left without care.

Some federal lawmakers have proposed new funding to fill the gap under the ARPA fund expiration. Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont proposed the idea. It would provide $16 billion in mandatory funding each year for the next five years.

There is also a bipartisan task force that is looking at other potential legislative solutions.

However, there’s growing concern about this hitting at the same time as a potential government shutdown.

Parent Ashlee Tatlock is concerned about this.

“If they are, then it is going to be a very heavy, hard thing to deal with because I will have to find another childcare center or possibly have somebody that I might not know watch my child for me. So with this cliff happening, it does take a toll, especially on single parents,” Tatlock said.