The U.S. is experiencing what many consider a “childcare crisis,” after pandemic-related staffing shortages forced thousands of centers to permanently close.
Parents nationwide are now struggling to find affordable, quality childcare; and while it’s a universal issue, it’s bringing military families, especially, to a breaking point.
“As a first-time mom and a fairly new military spouse, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect in a cross-country move in addition to the childcare situation, and I don’t think I totally understood the severity of the childcare situation or the shortage and the waitlists,” Ashley Ellis told CBN News.
Last summer, she and her husband received unexpected orders to relocate to a military base in Hawaii. As a full-time federal employee, Ellis quickly put her son on the base’s childcare wait list, hoping there would be an opening by the time they arrived.
“We got him on the waitlist as soon as we could. We were hoping to get childcare by January…and we are still on the waitlist,” Ellis explained.
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Over the last year, she has juggled working and taking care of her son. This means often starting
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