Inflation and the rising cost of essential goods and services are on everyone’s minds these days. In the realm of childcare and early childhood education, rising prices have had a serious impact on early education centers and childhood facilities. Add to this the strain many families have felt who needed childcare and could not afford it during the darkest days of the pandemic – and the resulting state of affairs is both messy and grim. According to a recent study, roughly 16,000 childcare and early education centers were forced to permanently close during the pandemic. As it is, about 500,000 American families lack childcare support because it is difficult to afford. With inflating driving up the cost of operations, from paying staff to purchasing supplies to handling utility bills, most childcare centers are left with two options: to shut their doors or to pass on the added expenses to parents.
Recently, it became safe and possible for children under five years of age to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This long-anticipated advancement will considerably ease families’ stress and will likely drive up demand for early education and childcare. Parents who have not already found reliable childcare at this stage of the pandemic are eager to enroll their children. As early childhood education costs rise, many families will be forced to make tough decisions. Should one parent stop working so that they can look after their young children? For many mothers, the pandemic has already forced them out of the workforce and into a caregiving role. Is it worth spending a significant portion of their income to pay for early education when parents also have increasing rent costs, gas, and mounting grocery costs to consider? These dilemmas are creating tension and difficulty in families throughout the United States.
At Maryvale, we are dedicated to helping families navigate these challenges - our early childhood education program is going above and beyond to ensure that young children and their families feel thoroughly cared for. Our comprehensive approach to family support has made us resilient and positions us a step ahead of the current inflation bubble. Our early childhood education centers have remained open continuously at every stage of the pandemic. We have provided various in-person and virtual programs to supplement learning material for young children and ease parents’ burdens. In many cases, access to reliable childcare is just one of many things families need.
The administrative teams at both our Duarte and Rosemead centers work one-on-one with families to educate them about our programs and determine if Maryvale is a good fit for their needs. As part of this intake process, it is not unusual that families need financial assistance in order to be able to attend our program. If this is the case, our eligibility specialists work closely with the families in question to understand their situation and assess their needs. These families are low-income, working families and are sometimes students, single parents, or unhoused families. Many times, as our eligibility specialists begin to develop trust with a family, the family will open up and share that they are not only in need of early education and childcare services, but there are other resources that they need, including rental assistance, food, and clothing. The more we know, the more we can help. Our team helps set families up with community partners to support their needs beyond early education. If our partners are unable to provide services due to a lack of resources, our team provides families with the item they need through the generosity of Maryvale donors.
Are you ready to enroll your child, or learn more about enrolling a child in one of our programs? Please get in touch with us – we’re excited to meet you! If you or a family you know needs support, we invite you to inquire about your eligibility for free or subsidized early childhood education. To learn more about what our early childhood education programs entail, read about our special approach to working with young children.
If you are interested in becoming a Maryvale donor and providing life-changing donations to help families who are struggling to cover costs and afford basic goods, we encourage you to learn more about all of the ways to give and get involved. Please contact Director of Development and Communications, Allyson Simpson at 626.537.3340 or asimpson@maryvale.org to learn more.
