After the pandemic, where will the US child care system end up?

Muluwork Kenea closed Amen Family Child Care for almost two months during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns. The business she operates out of her home in Washington, D.C., survived through a loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

Although she doesn’t expect to close for good, she’s worried about her costs. She employs two other people to help operate a 24-hour facility, so she can care for children at night for parents working nontraditional hours. Prior to the pandemic, she purchased protective gloves for $42. Now they’re running $89 a box. A box of disinfectant spray has jumped from under $20 to $90. 

“The federal government has to think about us,” she says. “We are super necessary, without us there is no work. We don’t want to close our businesses.”

Ms. Kenea faces challenges similar to those that have forced thousands of child care providers out

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