A report says Connecticut could lose 45,000 licensed day care slots as parents prepare to go back to work and need someone to watch their children.

Connecticut's Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye says the day care spaces will be lost unless Congress steps in with extra money.

Dr. Monette Ferguson, of Action for Bridgeport Community Development, says there are more expensive safety requirements and parents may keep their children from going back to day care due to the pandemic.

"We want to get back to work, we want to reopen," she says. "But we need to assure, and insure, that our families are safe; that our staff are safe."

Parents may be forced to stay home with their children due to the lack of spots, which could also slow the reopening of businesses.

Day care providers also say that it's impossible to socially distance 3 and 4-year-old children. They say that there will have to be temperature checks every day, constant disinfecting and asking parents to wear face masks even on the trip to preschool.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro is asking for a $50 billion bailout to keep day cares open.

"We bailed out the airlines, okay? So why can't we do something for child care?" DeLauro said.

In Connecticut, more than 1,500 child care providers have stayed open through the pandemic and have seen few infections.

For more information from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, click here.