US daycare workforce increases by 33% as number of children under 5 decreases by 9%

The number of child care workers in the United States has increased by roughly 33 percent over the past 12 years, even as the number of children age five and under has declined by nearly 9 percent, according to a Washington Examiner report that frames the trend as part of a broader political and policy issue extending beyond recent fraud allegations in Minnesota.

The report comes as Minnesota faces scrutiny over alleged fraud involving state-subsidized child care centers, many of them operated by members of the Somali community in Minneapolis. A viral video earlier this month by independent journalist Nick Shirley ignited investigations into certain publicly funded day care facilities.

The Washington Examiner argued that the growth of the child care industry is not primarily explained by demographic trends. The outlet reported that while the number of young children fell by 8.8 percent over the past 12 years, the child care workforce expanded by about 33 percent. The growth has continued even as the number of stay-at-home mothers has risen in recent years.

The report claims that Democrats over the past two decades have directed billions of dollars into the child care industry, often with support from labor unions that represent child care workers. The Examiner contends that public funding has been used as leverage to unionize child care workers, with unions then directing political spending back toward Democratic candidates and causes.

“When you hear a Democratic politician say they want ‘universal child care,’ or campaign on expanding ‘affordable, high-quality child care,’ you should suspect that they are playing patronage politics with the labor union allies,” the article stated.

Minnesota was cited as a prominent example following the 2022 election, when Gov. Tim Walz was reelected, and Democrats gained control of both chambers of the state legislature for the first time in a decade. With narrow majorities, lawmakers moved quickly in 2023 to expand child care subsidies, a series of actions supporters described as part of a “Minnesota Miracle.”

Advocacy groups played a significant role in lobbying for expanded subsidies. One such group, Isaiah, operates a lobbying initiative called “Kids Count on Us,” which focuses on increasing state funding for child care providers. 

Among the changes approved by lawmakers was an increase in how much the state’s Child Care Assistance Program pays providers. Under the new law, reimbursements are set at the 75th percentile of market rates. Legislators also extended pandemic-era direct payments to child care providers through the “Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program,” a subsidy totaling about $100 million per year. According to the legislature, the program is “designed to support the child care and early learning industry and workforce.” The funds are paid directly to providers rather than to parents.

Other blue states have seen similar instances of officials expanding child care programs. In 2019, California Govenor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that essentially made tens of thousands of child care workers become state employees for union organizing purposes. The bill was pushed by the child care lobby called Child Care Providers United.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced it would freeze $10 billion in funding for childcare subsidies to Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois, and Colorado. 

“Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch. Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes,” said HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon.