Posted on December 9, 2020
Essential But Still Undervalued
A Snapshot of New Jersey’s Child Care Workforce During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Hannah Korn-Heilner, MSW, Outreach Coordinator and
Cynthia Rice, Esq., Senior Policy Analyst
As New Jersey’s economy reopens, it has become evident that child care teachers are “the workforce behind the workforce,” essential in supporting working families and educating the minds of young children. To gain a deeper understanding of how Covid-19 has impacted the child care workforce, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) surveyed 270 child care center owners and directors from around New Jersey between July 1, 2020 to August 15, 2020. The results of the survey provide a brief snapshot of the experiences of child care staff during Covid-19, what has happened as centers began to reopen and recommendations to better support child care teachers.
