The pandemic exposes US childcare for what it is: ‘a crisis within a crisis’

Americans already struggling to afford childcare before the pandemic are now facing a more precarious economy

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare some of the worst inequities in the US, not least the shortcomings in the US childcare system. Thousands of childcare facilities are at risk of permanently closing and Americans already struggling to afford childcare before the pandemic are now facing a more precarious economy.

For Tanesha Borgman, a speech pathologist outside of Denver, Colorado, the pandemic has exacerbated an already difficult situation. Borgman has a three-year-old son with special needs who attended pre-school and had a childcare provider come to their home.