For-profit companies are buying up child care centers. This expert says that's a problem
Download mp3 (12.18 MB)On Tuesday, President Joe Biden issued a series of executive orders aimed at the child care and long-term care industries. He’s directing federal agencies to take steps to make this kind of care more affordable — and increase pay for those who provide it.
It’s an expansive effort that came after the president failed to get Congress to approve a $400 billion package to address the caregiving industry as a whole.
Elliot Haspel is the director of climate and young children for the think tank CAPITA. He says the influence of private equity in the child care industry is growing — and that’s a problem as the nation faces a child care shortage and many families are staring down yearslong waitlists for care.
In a new brief, he argues for-profit, investor-backed firms are buying up more child care centers across the country — and the results are not good for children and families. In fact, the New York Times found last year that some of these companies have lobbied against child care reforms in Washington as they’ve made surprising profits off of an embattled industry.
