Childcare Gaps In Rural America Threaten to Undercut Small Communities
Data collected before the pandemic shows that more than half of Americans lived in neighborhoods classified as childcare deserts, areas with no child care providers or where there are more than three children in the community for every available licensed care slot. Other research shows parents and childcare providers in rural areas face unique barriers. Access to quality childcare programs and early education is linked to better educational and behavioral outcomes for kids and can also help link families and children to immunizations, health screenings, and greater food security by providing meals and snacks.
Policymakers and researchers now fear that inequitable childcare access threatens the sustainability and longevity of rural communities.
“If we want to keep rural parts of this country alive and thriving, we need to address this,” said Linda Smith, director of the Early Childhood Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
According to an October report that Smith co-authored, there is a 35% gap between the need for and availability of childcare programs in rural areas, compared with 29% in urban areas, based on data from 35 states.
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