For Christina Townsend, the cost of child care for her young son was $1,625 a month in Northern Virginia, about 50% of her take-home income. That was on top of the financial burden of taking unpaid parental leave when he was born.

Children aren’t cheap. The cost of living crisis is pushing parents to the edge of their finances, worrying about paying for essentials like food, clothing and childcare. 

Parents still face rising costs while providers struggle to stay in business 

ARLINGTON, VA, January 25, 2022 – Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) today released The Year in Child Care: 2021 Data, Analysis and Recommendations, the final installment in the organization’s Catalyzing Growth: Using Data to Change Child Care series. This report highlights parent and provider experiences and further illustrates the gap between what families can afford to pay and what providers must charge to scrape by.  

The report is a comprehensive look at the child care system’s recent challenges and opportunities, giving readers a fuller picture of child care affordability by comparing child care prices to median household income by both marital status and race/ethnicity.  

“While the cost of child care remains out of reach for many families in this country, providers are still struggling to stay in business,” shares Michelle McCready, CCAoA’s interim chief executive officer. “As providers prepare to lose COVID-era relief funds, this sector’s need for robust, long-term public support becomes more urgent by the day.”  

ARLINGTON, VA, December 13, 2022 – Michelle McCready was named Interim Chief Executive Officer of Child Care Aware® of America by the CCAoA Board of Directors effective January 12, 2023. CCAoA CEO Dr. Lynette M. Fraga announced in August that she is stepping down effective January 11, 2023.  

A mom of three, Alicia Fout was going to college and working 30 hours a week but still often struggled to cover the cost of child care.

The high price tag forced her to prioritize which monthly bills to pay, which meant frequent utility shut-off notices – and some extremely difficult decisions.

“I learned which bills I could forgo every other month to keep up with the financial needs of my children,” Fout told CNN. 

State Legislature Roundup: Some Wins, but More Support for Child Care is Needed | Exchange Press 

States and local communities play a significant role in shaping the policies that determine child care access for families and the quality of available care. This article explores legislation that state and local governments enacted in 2022 to support child care and early learning. These actions are especially important, as the last available federal funding, which has allowed states to implement temporary child care policies, is set to run out by September 24. 

As states spend down their relief funding over the next year, it will be critical to keep advocating for child care and early learning policies at the state level. While some legislative actions have been big policy wins for families, providers, and children, not every state has made bold reforms for child care and early learning. That leaves a patch-work of early learning access across the country. In 2023, we must make child care investments a priority in all state houses and at the federal level.

Follow Lynette Fraga on Twitter @lynette_fraga and Child Care Aware of America @ChildCareAware

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