Sachin Shivaram, CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry in Manitowoc, Wis., realized during the pandemic how much his employees were struggling with child care. Figuring out how to help them has been challenging. Andrea Hsu/NPR hide caption
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child care
Elvia Elena Nunez and her grandson Esteban spent several months this spring in the Kith and Kin program. Andrea Hsu/NPR hide caption
Lakethia Clark stands in her son's bedroom in her home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Clark will soon open her own home-based child care business. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
On her way to work at the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing plant in northern Alabama, D'Koya Mathis takes her 2-year-old daughter Zharia to Ms. Pat's Child Care & Development Center. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
An auto plant in Alabama is offering employees up to $250 per month for child care
With pandemic relief money for child care winding down, states are looking for ways to ensure the sector survives so parents can go to work. skynesher/Getty Images hide caption
Kentucky had an outside-the-box idea to fix child care worker shortages. It's working
Destiny Vansickle is a teacher in the 2-year-old classroom at A Place to Grow. Thanks to the bonuses and wage increases she received in the pandemic, she was able to buy her first house. Andrea Hsu/NPR hide caption
$400-a-month pandemic bonuses were life-changing for child care workers. That's over
Deandrea Rahming was apprehensive about going back to work after more than a decade out of the job market, but in the wake of the pandemic she found employers eager to hire. Deandrea Rahming hide caption
Women are returning to the job market in droves, just when the U.S. needs them most
UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1950s: Couple in kitchen. Women in opposite-sex marriages may be contributing more to their families' income, but they're also still shouldering more of the workload at home, according to a new report. George Marks/Getty Images hide caption
Women are earning more money. But they're still picking up a heavier load at home
President Biden's ambitious proposals to address the high cost and short supply of child care haven't garnered enough support in Congress, so now his administration has come up with a workaround. Getty Images/Maskot hide caption
Biden has big ideas for fixing child care. For now a small workaround will have to do
Allyson Felix reacts after winning a gold medal in the Women's 4 x 400m Relay Final at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August 2021. Christian Petersen/Getty Images hide caption
According to the State Department, 14 au pair agencies operate in the U.S. These private companies are required to offer the child care workers who contract with them basic health coverage. But the plans often amount to emergency or travel insurance — not the kind of full coverage ACA health plans offer. Petri Oeschger/Getty Images hide caption
Latoya Beatty, owner of Little Pandas Learn-N-Play in Martinsburg, W.Va., has had trouble hiring day care teachers. She recently raised her starting wage from $10 an hour to $12. Andrea Hsu/NPR hide caption
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington on Feb. 24. Warren's latest book is called Persist. Greg Nash/AP hide caption
Elizabeth Warren Stitches The Stories She Says 'Help Us Learn To Persist'
The pandemic shuttered day-care centers, after-school programs and camps this year, creating problems for some parents who put aside wages, pre-tax, to pay for those expenses. Lars Baron/Getty Images hide caption
Use It Or Lose It: Parents Set Wages Aside For Child Care. Now It's At Risk
Couples are struggling to redefine their own roles as they look to navigate a pandemic that has upended many aspects of domestic life. Nicole Xu for NPR hide caption
'I Come Up Short Every Day': Couples Under Strain As Families Are Stuck At Home
The American Government Once Offered Widely Affordable Child Care ... 77 Years Ago
A drop-off at a day care last month in the Queens borough of New York City. Lindsey Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption
Ninety-five percent of child care providers are women, and many are losing their jobs as the pandemic devastates the industry, the National Women's Law Center says. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption
Parkview Early Learning Center in Spokane, Wash., has been operating at one-third capacity under pandemic guidelines. Co-owner Luc Jasmin III says it has been tough to turn away parents, many of whom are essential workers. Kathryn Garras hide caption
Assemblywoman Mahjabeen Sheran on the day she brought her 8-month-old son to a session in Pakistan's Balochistan province. The secretary of the assembly said babies were against the rules. Ismail Kakar hide caption
Gaby Gemetti decided to leave the workforce after having her second child. In March she started a "returnship," a new type of program to recruit and retrain women like her who are looking to resume their careers. Here, Gaby and John Gemetti are seen with their children, Carlo and Gianna. Courtesy of Shannon Wight Photography hide caption