The childcare industry is in crisis and needs support NOW. As the plan to open our state resumes, childcare businesses are opening back up with more challenges than people realize.  Opening childcare centers, with limited ratios of 9 children to 1 teacher will actually shut down centers due to the financial restrictions:  These public health guidelines that require smaller group sizes, combined with increased spending on sanitation, lower enrollment and the same fixed costs will ultimately lead to financial insolvency. Being at the restricted MAX CAPACITY of just 9 children, we are currently turning away children for care, therefore preventing people to go back to work.

Additionally, childcare providers are not permitted to:

• gather or mix groups, 
• use a substitute to break a staff member for lunch or bathroom breaks,
• allow families to drop off their child in their classroom creating heartbreak at the door.
• staff have to physically walk children to classrooms at pick up and drop off

The Early Learning Coalition is doing it's best to find sufficient funds to support it's providers, but simply, funds are just not available. The child care crisis will not be solved by simply reopening childcare, and, in the absence of additional investment, program closures are inevitable.

Please support us by signing this petition to urge leaders to advocate to increase group size for childcare centers to at least 15.

The state needs us, our families need us and we need you to support us to ensure our schools survive this pandemic.