Childcare providers are struggling to plan for the future as federal funding runs dry

• Many parents need reliable childcare so they can hold down their jobs.
• But costs have gotten prohibitively high and could soon rise even more.
• Some childcare operators told Insider the end of pandemic-era funding could make the problem worse.

Kayanna Jackson is in a bind.

To keep the doors open at her Southampton Township, New Jersey, childcare center, she needs to find new clients or new funding.