Child Care: An essential service for disaster recovery

When a major disaster strikes in the United States, the President issues a Presidential Disaster Declaration releasing federal disaster relief funds for the “critical services” necessary to restore local communities. One community service not considered eligible for federal relief funds is childcare. But childcare is a necessary condition for getting communities back to normal routines and parents back to work. Redefining childcare as a critical service is not only good for the educational development of young children but makes it possible for the parents of young children to resume their place in the workforce.

This issue brief discusses the importance of childcare for disaster recovery and provides policy recommendations on how to protect and restore community childcare infrastructure in disasters.