Stefanie Longenecker, 43, Palmyra, Pa. Has stayed out of the workforce because of high cost of child care. But she has been sidelined from the workforce by a child care system that has grown inaccessible for many families. Longenecker, 43, left her job as a hospital pathologist during the pandemic to care for her young children amid repeated day care and school closings. “I’m incredibly lucky to be able to spend this time with my kids, even recognizing the shortcomings.”The child care crunch has put a growing squeeze on families since the pandemic, when more than 100,000 workers left the industry and more than 16,000 child care centers permanently closed. Since then, child care costs have risen more than 30%, and households with child care expenses have been spending at a slower pace and dipping into savings at a faster rate than the general population, according to a Bank of America analysis of its customers’ spending.

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Persons: Stefanie Longenecker, ” Longenecker, “ that’s, Longenecker, that’s, she’s, Longenecker’s, Davidson, ”, “, haven’t, We’re Organizations: NBC, “, Bank of America, Stanford University Locations: Palmyra, Pa, Palmyra , Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Lebanon County