Chapter 4: Early Childhood Education and Care Beyond the Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has profoundly affected children and parents, employees and employers, and educational institutions at every level in ways that are still not fully understood. Early childhood education settings, their workers, and the families they serve have not been spared. In fact, the organizations and workers who provide these incredibly valuable services to children and families have faced challenges unlike those in other locations. Early in the pandemic, many centers indicated that they would not be able to stay open even if they were allowed to, especially as tuition incomes declined but costs increased, and, in fact, many closed (Quinton, 2020).