The economic recovery has a child-care problem

Home daycare provider Jerletha McDonald has space for 12 kids, but parents can’t afford care or are afraid kids will get sick. (Photo: Laura Buckman/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) –When the pandemic broke out, significant help arrived quickly for working parents in many rich countries, with one notable exception: the United States.

Now, nearly a year later, President Joe Biden aims to address what has become one of the most daunting obstacles to a full economic recovery, with policy proposals such as more money for child care and families.