The COVID-19 Relief Bill Could Be A Huge Turning Point For Child Care In The U.S.

Because of coronavirus-related restrictions, the kids don’t roller skate anymore at the Funtime Preschool in Clinton, Mississippi. But that’s hardly the only change, said Lesia Daniel Hollingshead, who opened an after-school program out of her father’s skating rink more than 20 years ago and has since expanded it into a full-time child care center.

The pandemic upended her entire operation. “It’s completely different,” she said. Enrollment is half of what it was last year and revenue is down 40%. Yet costs have tripled, she said. Operating a child care center...