The Story
Child care providers have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic as their costs increased and families temporarily pulled their children out. But greater Minnesota was already facing a child care shortage before COVID-19 arrived. Over the past 20 years, family child care businesses in rural Minnesota have been closing faster than new ones can open. Greater Minnesota has lost 20,000 child care spaces in two decades, according to a recent report from the Center for Rural Policy and Development.
