People in the industry of childcare in Central New York say that the business is currently in a crisis.
Lori Schakow, Executive Director of Child Care Solutions, says this has been a crisis since before the pandemic hit. Her company oversees hundreds of childcare centers between Cayuga County and Onondaga County.
Staff issues and closedowns are now increasing the issues.
During the pandemic many centers were open for free for essential workers but not many took advantage of it, causing closures or businesses to be run at half capacity. Because of this, both Cayuga and Onondaga county have lost 681 slots for childcare between the two counties.
These issues have been combined with the current issue of staffing; workers are paid low wages and the market for them is growing smaller.
This has caused many parents to have no choice but to stay home with their children.
Scholarships are available for low-income parents and businesses looking for start a childcare facility of their own.
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