Some child care centers in Idaho start to rebound in pandemic
BOISE (CBS2) — You know things are tough when researchers warn nearly half of child care centers in the United States could be lost to the pandemic.
CBS2 talked to Rick Antl, onsite owner of the Gooddard School of Meridian which offers services for some 160 kids, ages six weeks through Pre-K.
I've been reading some dire predictions, that many child care facilities will have to close because of the pandemic.
"Well, it's had an effect, things continue to improve," Antl said. "But it's a challenge to present a quality program especially from the cost of staffing."
In addition to staffing, child care centers now face new health safety requirements in the age of coronavrius.
When Covid-19 hit the United States in March parents pulled their kids from child care centers as families hunkered down.
But things have changed in the past few months.
The opening of schools has translated to an increase in enrollment at his center.
"It certainly has," he said. "As teachers go back to work they need childcare services. And you can extrapolate it beyond return to school. More corporate businesses are asking people to return to the office, and so they will need child care services. So, it's not just the reopening of school, but a return to some normalcy for business and industries."
