Closures of family child care centers have caused a shortage of child care spots across the state, and COVID-19 accelerated that because many parents kept their children home.
Now the shortage is dire. There is a need for 39,000 child care spots in Minnesota, including more than 1,400 in St. Cloud, according to the Greater Minnesota Partnership.
"If we're going to entice (women) back into the workforce, they're going to need child care. Or maybe they'd like to consider going into child care," said Don Hickman, vice president for Community and Workforce Development at the Initiative Foundation. "But without child care, we're going to have a much slower economic recovery."