The number of child care providers in Cecil County fell 10.81% between Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2024. That’s the fifth smallest decrease in the state.
Meanwhile, the number of child care slots in Cecil County decreased from 2,681 on Jan. 1, 2020, to 2,415 on Jan. 1, 2024. That’s a 9.92% decrease — the 11th largest in the state.
The county did not have any child care providers with a rating of 5 on the state's EXCELS rating system -- the top rating -- in either January 2020 or January 2024.
Here's what Gayle R. Simon, director of A Place of Growth II, a large family child care center in Elkton, had to say about the child care situation in Cecil County:
"I think it's extremely difficult for parents to get child care... I know several (providers) that closed. They're like: 'I'm just not doing this anymore. It's too much. It's too strenuous.'"
-- Jenna Bloom and Jerry Zremski