New York Times
This guide was originally published on July 29, 2019 and republished on April 17, 2020.
Finding child care is a huge challenge for most working parents in the United States. The cost of child care, whether in day-care centers or home-based day cares, continues to rise: For a family with two working parents, the cost of a day-care center for one infant averages more than 13 percent of the household’s income, according to a 2018 report by Child Care Aware.
Consider contacting a child care resource and referral agency, which can help you decipher accreditation and licensing requirements, quality ratings and other child-care center policies.
They are “one of the best kept secrets for selecting child care and navigating the system,” said Michelle Noth McCready, deputy executive director for Child Care Aware, a membership organization that works with local resource and referral agencies. “You can talk to a live person who is knowledgeable about the child care landscape in your community.”
Child Care Aware has checklists of questions to ask and resources to consider for parents seeking child care.
