The Problem:

States and territories must implement Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) requirements on criminal background checks, but those requirements are complicated and can be difficult to understand.

That’s the bottom line from CCAoA’s just-published report on Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2017. Our signature annual report is now in its eleventh year and this year, as in previous years, child care represents one of the most significant expenses in parents’ budgets. In all regions of the country, families average child care fees for an infant in a child care center are more than the average amount that families spend on food and transportation combined. And the average annual cost for an infant in center-based care was higher than a year’s tuition and fees at a four-year public college in 28 states and the District of Columbia!

WASHINGTON, DC — Child Care Aware® of America today released its annual Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2017 report, which found that child care is unaffordable in all 50 states.

Child Care Aware® of America, the nation’s leading advocate for quality, affordable child care, found that child care fees for two children in 2016 exceeded mortgage payments in 35 states and the District of Columbia; while average annual cost for an infant in center-based care was higher than a year at a four-year public college in 28 states and the District of Columbia.  

Earlier today, the House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 1, the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017" on a party-line vote. While proposals to expand and enhance the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) were not included in the amended version, the proposal to eliminate Dependent Care Flexible Savings Accounts was overturned. The House is scheduled to vote on H.R. 1 sometime next week.

Yesterday, House Republican leadership introduced the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017."  This anticipated legislation is designed to reform the tax code for the first time since the 1980s, including changes to deductions and tax credits.

Child Care Aware® of America supports initiatives by Congress that would strengthen access to affordable child care for all. Unfortunately, the House-passed “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (H.R. 1) fails to address the child care needs of working families by not providing sufficient tax relief and prioritizing expansion of critical tax credits, including the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC).