Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/thirty-seventh-annual-status-report-on-for-profit-child-care/5027368/
*The full top 50 chart can be found in the pdf version of this article.
Three years of disruption, innovation and reinvention, and stabilization, have laid the groundwork for optimism around enrollment demand, stability in hiring and retention, and aggressive growth plans for the future among the nation’s largest early education providers. After facing three years of enrollment struggles, exponential demands for pay and stronger working environments, and rising operational costs, the industry has responded with historic adaptation to meet the needs of working parents by finding innovative ways to meet the market demands.
COVID stimulus and associated state funding did its job to stabilize the industry through 2023, and today enrollment has largely recovered to pre-covid levels with tuition rates being adjusted to reflect rising costs, making most feel that the continued roll off of grant funding will not challenge their ability to operate. This funding was predominantly focused on supporting staff with higher pay, bonuses, and increased benefits and many child care providers have relied on federal and state funding in order to keep their doors open for the past three years. Although substantial support was necessary in order to stabilize business operations, businesses that received funding are feeling a sigh ...