Louisiana child care providers say rising costs and staffing shortages are putting increasing pressure on their ability to stay open and serve families. A new poll from the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children found more than 600 early childhood education providers are absorbing higher costs, but Chief of Research and Policy Heather Cope says that’s not sustainable long term.
“We’re seeing that the majority of providers have costs that are outpacing their revenues, at least some months; and most are struggling to remain financially viable,” Cope said.
Cope says nearly three-fourths of child care providers said they were worried about being able to afford to operate over the next six months.
Cope says rising costs are putting providers under financial strain, but rather than raise tuition on families, providers are absorbing the costs themselves, but they can’t do that indefinitely.
“As you can imagine, like that is going to eventually lead them on a path where they might have to then think about closing if you don’t have enough revenue to pay for your increasing costs,” Cope noted.
Cope says staffing is also a challenge, because the average annual pay for lead teachers is just under $29,000. She says this survey makes it clear that Louisiana needs sustained investments in early childhood programs and educators in order to allow parents to work, businesses to operate and children to thrive.
“Shore up the industry, so that way, providers can provide the high-quality care that families are looking for; and that will require more investment from the state to be able to bridge that gap for families,” Cope suggested.