Day cares struggling to stay afloat, hoping federal money will help The child care industry, hit hard by COVID, is looking to President Biden's billion-dollar plan to turn things around. Author: January Keaton Updated: 9:35 PM EDT May 18, 2021 CLEVELAND — When COVID struck, the child care industry was hit hard. Many day cares closed and child care workers lost jobs because of higher operating costs and fewer paying customers. Now that states are opening up and folks are getting back to work, what does the future of child care look like? "We've seen enrollment and quality of early childhood day cares go down about 40%," Nancy Mendez, president & CEO of Cleveland-based child care resource center Starting Point, said. "This past year, we've seen capacities in those same centers decrease by approximately 30%."