How many CCEE programs entered and exited the market during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Answering this question can provide insight into changes in the supply of CCEE programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. To answer this question, site level information can be used to identify programs that were operational for the first time during the pandemic and those that ended operations during the pandemic.

Critical to this question is determining a date span for a time period of interest during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, March 11^th, 2020, could be used as the start date, as this is when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic[1]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration on May 11^th, 2023[2]. One option is to use this date to mark the end of the pandemic. Other options could include using the dates when a state implemented lock downs or quarantines for infected individuals and when quarantine or mask mandates were lifted or other relevant policies were enacted in the state.

The Operation Date and Operation Date Ended data elements can be used to determine if a CCEE program entered or exited the child care market during the pandemic. Create one column or variable to indicate if a program entered the child care market during the pandemic and a separate column or variable to indicate if a program exited the child care market during the pandemic.  To calculate how many CCEE programs entered the market during the pandemic, identify which programs have Operation Dates that fall between the state determined dates for the pandemic duration. Those programs that entered the child care market during the pandemic can be assigned a numerical value of “1” and those that did not can be assigned a numerical value of “0”. To calculate how many CCEE programs exited the market during the pandemic as a separate variable, identify which programs have date values in the Operation Dates Ended data element that fall between the state determined dates for the pandemic duration. Those programs that exited the child care market during the pandemic can be assigned a numerical value of “1” and those that did not exit during the pandemic can be assigned a numerical value of “0”. Count the Site ID for those programs assigned a numerical value of 1 for each variable to get the total count of programs that entered and a total count of those that exited the child care market during the pandemic.  There may be CCEE programs that both entered and exited the child care market during the pandemic as well. These can be distinguished by adding together the values from the two columns/variables (entries and exits). Programs that entered and exited the child care market during the pandemic would have a value of 2.

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline (March 2023).

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  End of the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) Declaration. (September 2023).