MarketWatch

As lawmakers debate how to get financially struggling Americans through the pandemic, one idea is more cash for families with children, with payments structured like mini-stimulus checks coming monthly.

In a child-care system where prices are rising and spots are contracting, however, the question is how much of dent these proposals can make for families confronting the expensive juggling act of work and daycare.

“Child care is not affordable for far too many,” said Mario Cardona, chief of policy and practice at Child Care Aware of America, an organization focused on child-care quality, access and affordability. 

Added money for families is “incredibly helpful for families, but in terms of child care, the cost of care is incredibly high,” he added. 

Families paid an average between $9,200 and $9,600 for one child’s day care in 2019, according to data from the organization. 

By July, 35% of child-care centers and 21% of family child-care centers, smaller licensed operations in a residential setting, were still closed, according to Child Care Aware of America.  

Taking stock of the proposals, Cardona said, “Making changes are incredibly helpful, but’s not going to solve the problem” of access and affordability. Furthermore, he said, there would no requirement the money gets spent on child care. That’s why direct investment in child care businesses and extra funding for child care subsidies are needed, he said.

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Money Geek

Child Care Aware of America's [2019] report on child care costs found the national average price is between $9,100–$9,600 a year for one child. That number does not reflect what most people pay but is an average across all states.

It's essential to look at child care costs based on age and type, particularly for children aged birth–4 years. In a child care center, the median price for an infant is $11,896 compared to $9,254 for a 4-year-old. The cost is lower for in-home child care, meaning licensed child care in a private home rather than a center.

Child Care Aware^® of America's data on the high price of child care was featured on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah:

USA Today

For the hundreds of thousands of low-income parents who rely on subsidized preschool services, those programs do much more than care for and educate their children. They provide nutritious meals and health screenings, resources to support housing stability and financial security.  

That, advocates argue, attests to the crucial role such programs play in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout – and why early-childhood workers should be given priority for the shots.  

Infection rates are, according to one study, highest among Native American, Black and Latino early-childhood workers, though it's unclear whether they contracted the virus in child care settings. Women of color, who are overrepresented in that workforce, are more likely to get COVID-19 than their white counterparts.  

Yet some states haven't grouped early-childhood workers with other teachers on their lists of who gets precedence for vaccination. Even in places that have technically included such workers in one of the first vaccination phases, confusion remains over how and where to make that happen.

According to the research and advocacy organization Child Care Aware of America, five states and Washington, D.C., prioritize K-12 staff over early-childhood workers for the COVID-19 vaccine. Another four states have yet to clarify when the latter group can access it. 

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Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., CEO of Child Care Aware® of America, released the following statement in response to President-elect Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan:

“President-elect Biden’s bold plan to rescue our communities and help us fight COVID-19 is sorely needed. On the heels of dispiriting news about the growing spread of the virus and the disparate impact of the pandemic on the employment and labor force participation of women of color, we need action.

Child care is a critical part of our response to the pandemic and broader economic recovery. Child Care Aware® of America is grateful to see the President-elect’s proposal to invest $40 billion in the child care system. In conjunction with his plan’s commitment to bolster wages, provide paid leave and health care, address housing and nutrition insecurity, and pull children out of poverty – all issues that families and workers in the child care system struggle with – this rescue package would have a tremendous impact on communities across the country.

We stand ready to work with Congress and the incoming Administration on this plan and urge them to act quickly.”

The 19th

A fresh round of stimulus could help the industry regain some of its footing. Congress has allocated $10 billion in funding for child care, including $250 million for Head Start, the federal program that subsidizes early childhood education. Most of that money will go to grants for child care providers who need help paying employees and rent and making modifications to their centers to follow new coronavirus rules. 

Malik, the CAP researcher, called it a “good down-payment,” but child care providers agree that more money is needed to stabilize the industry — and thereby stabilize the economy as a whole.

Lynette Fraga, the CEO of Child Care Aware of America, an industry advocacy group, said $10 billion “is far from what the child care system needs to survive the pandemic.” The group has put the real price tag around $50 billion.

“This will only provide short-term relief,” Fraga said, “on the long road to recovery for child care.” 

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Today, President-elect Joe Biden announced the nomination of Connecticut Commissioner of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education. Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., CEO of Child Care Aware® of America—the nation’s leading voice for child care—released the following statement: 

Child Care Aware® of America is pleased to see Connecticut Commissioner of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education. Cardona has demonstrated a commitment to advancing an agenda that supports children from birth and even served as co-chairperson of the Connecticut Birth to Grade Three Leaders Council, according to his state biography. We couldn’t agree more with Cardona’s statement that, “For far too long, we’ve spent money on interventions and band aids to address disparities instead of laying a wide, strong foundation of quality, universal early childhood education, and quality social and emotional supports for all of our learners.” CCAoA looks forward to more closely examining his record and urge the Senate to quickly consider his nomination. 

Fatherly

So what do working parents really need? We rounded up six experts all of whom have different expertise about the needs of working parents, and asked each of them just that. Answers ranged from far-reaching policy changes to simple respites from the grind of working from a home filled with stir-crazy children. Here’s what they said.

Working Parents Need a Working Child Care System

America’s childcare system was in tatters before COVID. The U.S. spends less than 0.5 percent of our GDP on child care, far less than most industrialized countries. American child care funding relies on a patchwork of funding sources, often overburdening parents and keeping quality care inaccessible for low income families. The number of child care providers fell short of the demand for child care before the pandemic and dwindled further as centers shuttered under lockdown. Child Care Aware of America CEO Lynette M. Fraga says America urgently needs to repair its broken child care system.

Read the full article.

This week, Congress officially approved both federal funding for the remainder of FY2021 and COVID-19 relief, providing support to child care and other early learning programs.  

Funding for FY21 included:  

• $5.911 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) – an $85 million increase from FY 2020; and  
• $10.748 billion for Head Start/Early Head Start – a $135 million increase from FY2020.  

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 combined full-year funding with relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The relief funding included $10 billion dedicated to child care, $250 million in support for Head Start, $284 billion in loans for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, $166 billion in direct payment checks, and an extension of unemployment benefits.  

In response, Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., CEO of Child Care Aware® of America—the nation’s leading voice for child care—released the following statement: 

We are grateful that child care was one of the industries to receive targeted COVID-19 relief in the package. This critical funding will help providers address the financial burdens associated with increased operating costs and decreased enrollment during the pandemic. However, $10 billion is far from what the child care system needs to survive the pandemic. This will only provide short-term relief on the long road to recovery for child care. 

Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) today announced that Mario Cardona is joining CCAoA on January 4, 2021, as its new Chief of Policy and Practice.