Post on 12-Oct-2020
Child Care is Fundamental to America’s Children, Families, and Economy
HelenBlank,NWLC
Child Care is Fundamental.
High-qualitychildcareandpre-kindergartenisessen;altoenableparentstogetandkeepajob,andtogivechildrenastrongstarttowardssuccessinschoolandlife.Childcarestrengthensoureconomy.
Women need child care in order to work..
Themajorityofwomenwithyoungchildrenareworking.Nearlytwo-thirdsofwomenwithchildrenunderagesix,includingwomenwithchildrenunderageone,areinthelaborforce.
Many working mothers earn
low wages.
1in5workingmotherswithveryyoungchildrenworkinalowwagejob.
Families with working
mothers rely on a variety of types of child
care.
Childcarecentersandpreschool.Familychildcarehomes.Rela;ves.
High-quality child care gives
children the opportunity learn and develop skills
they need to succeed in school
and in life.
Studies demonstrate that high quality child care has posiEve impacts on children’s cogniEve and social development.
The cost of child care can put it
out of reach for many families.
Theaverageannualcostoffull;mecareforonechildrangesfrom$3,000toover$20,000dependingontheageofthechild,thetypeofcare,andwherethefamilylives.Lowincomefamiliesspendalargepor;onofthereincomeonchildcare.
In many neighborhoods,
parents have few child care opEons.
Childcareforinfantsandchildrenwithspecialneedsispar;cularlyhardtofind,especiallyinlow-incomecommuni;es.
In many neighborhoods,
parents have few child care
opEons.
Parentsinlow-wagejobswithnon-standardorvariableschedulesoPenalsohavegreatdifficultyfindingchildcareop;onsthatmatchtheirworkhours.
Child care assistance helps families afford
high-quality child care and enables women to work.
TheChildCareDevelopmentBlockGrantprovidesfundingtostatestohelpfamiliesaffordcareandtoimprovethequalityofcareWhenmothersreceivehelpaffordingchildcare,studiesdemonstratethattheyaremorelikelytogetandkeepajob.
Only a small fracEon of eligible families are receiving help due to insufficient funding.
Manyfamilieswithincomestolowtoaffordchildcareontheirownarenotabletoreceivechildcareassistanceundertheirstates’restric;veeligibilitylimits.Eveniffamiliesareeligibleforchildcareassistance,theymaynotreceiveitandmayinsteadbeplacedonawai;nglistformonthsoryears.
Child care providers are not paid
sufficiently to support high quality
care.
Paymentratesforprovidersservingfamiliesthatreceivechildcareassistancearetoolowtosupporthigh-qualitycare.
Child care providers are not paid
sufficiently to support high quality
care.
Theprovidersteachingandcaringforourchildrenreceiveverylowwages:theaverageannualsalaryforchildcareworkersis$11.42anhour,or$23,760peryear.
Current federal tax benefits provide liNle help with child care
expenses for working families who need it
most.
ThefederalChildanddependentcaretaxcredit(CDCTC)allowsparentstoclaimataxcreditforpartoftheirwork-relatedchildordependentcareexpenses.EmployeeswhoseemployerschoosetoofferDependentCareFlexibleSpendingAccounts(FSAs)canelecttosetasideandexcludefromincomeupto$5,000forwork-relatedandchildanddependentcareexpenses.
Pre-Kindergarten for low-income families.
Low-incomefamilieswith3and4year-oldscanuseHeadStartforaporBonoftheday.
Forty-onestateshaveaPre-Kindergartenprogramformostly4year-olds.
Somestates’Pre-Kprogramshaveverylimitedhours.
SomestateshaveUniversalPre-K.
Thank You!
Formoreinforma;on:HelenBlankDirector,ChildCareandEarlyLearninghblank@nwlc.orgVisit:www.nwlc.org