Child Care Cost Blog For Parents

Jump Start Finance Begins National Rollout

12/18/2020

Jump Start Finance Begins National Rollout of KidVantage Loans for Child Care, Expansion of Care Center Partnership Program to Include National and Multi-State Chains

Loan Program Specifically for Child Care Cost Reduces Monthly Costs for Families Without Long-Term Impact of Leaving Workforce or Credit Cards

Poway, CA (December 21, 2020) – Following successful implementation of their program to provide needed financial relief to families throughout California and Colorado, Jump Start Finance (JSF), creator of the KidVantage Loan specifically for child care, has announced a phased nationwide expansion beginning in early 2021. The KidVantage loan is the only focused financing option that allows families to lower their monthly child care payment and pay over a longer period of time, expanding the range of child care options and providing long term financial benefits.
After a successful proof of concept, KidVantage Loans officially launched in California and Colorado earlier this year, allowing parents to make the best possible care decisions for their children with a significantly decreased monthly financial burden and positive long-term impact. The rollout of the program nationwide is driven by the documented need for financial options for families and the ongoing growth of JSF’s child care center partners JSF to include national chains and independent operators in all 50 states.

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Planning for Child Care Amid a Pandemic

11/11/2020

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Planning for Child Care: A challenging process made even more difficult by the pandemic.

Choosing the right timing and type of care for your child has been an evolving challenge for many years. That challenge is now tougher than ever.

The typical checklists families have used to select a care provider or center - focusing on quality, location, teaching methods, etc. - have due to the pandemic expanded to include a need to understand and be comfortable with cleaning protocols, center adherence to state-mandated rules about social distancing, PPE use, student-teacher ratios, and more.

The cost of care has always been one of the more difficult hurdles for parents, but as difficult as it has been it too has become even more problematic. Many families are dealing with reduced or lost income resulting from job loss, furloughs or reduced hours. Child care centers are also feeling pressure to increase their prices to deal with higher operating costs including additional cleaning costs and rent that covers fewer kids per square foot.

To better understand how parents deal with the difficult topic of selecting child care providers and how to pay for it, we recently conducted a survey of nearly 500 families with children under 6. We explored how parents plan their child care strategy, the resources they use, the types of care and attributes about the care provider that are most important, and how COVID has impacted their decision making and ultimate choice.

Worried mom and consoling daughter, Jump Start Finance, Planning for Child Care

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Partner Highlight - Thomas Learning Centers

11/6/2020

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This week we'd like to share our interview questions we had with the owner of Thomas Learning Centers in the beautiful state of Colorado. Our partner had such wonderfully thoughtful answers. Read on...

What are you most proud of with your center(s)?

Overall, I’m proudest of long-term staff who create quality experiences for kids and their families every day. I’m especially proud that they are pulling this off even through through hoops necessary to be safe during a pandemic.

When did you know you wanted to work in early childhood education? What drew you to child-care?

After I became a certified teacher I was drawn to the fact that within child care settings relationships and family involvement is encouraged. I felt then, and still do that early childhood education is the place where I can make the greatest difference and help families the most.

What is the biggest challenge you've faced while working in child-care? How did you handle it?

Politics. One just has to to roll with it, to be prepared to defend practices that are proven to be best practices over methods that take opportunities away from kids as opposed to expanding them.

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Partner Highlight - Imagination Academy

10/29/2020

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Jump Start Finance spends time getting to know each of our partners so we can pass along some highlights that make each center wonderful and unique. While each center is unique, a common theme among our partners is their passion for helping children learn and grow as early educators and care takers. Imagination Academy's Director, Sonna Dhamrait, spent some time answering some of our partner highlight questions to help viewers get to know more about them.

When did you know you wanted to work in early childhood education? What drew you to childcare?

My own children drew me into childcare because I realized how much I loved being with them and their friends. But I’ve always been around children, even working my way through college as a childcare assistant.

What is the biggest challenge you've faced while working in child-care? How did you handle it?

This pandemic is one of my biggest challenges, keeping staff, students and families safe. Frankly, I take it one day at a time, but it’s one very long, hard working day at a time.

What is the most important thing a classroom needs to run smoothly?

A good relationship between children and their teachers. Without that relationship, there can’t be true learning.

What do you consider key elements in a high-quality daycare operation?

Low ratios
Highly educated teachers
A strong family connection
Proven leadership

Director, Sonna Dhamrait

Sonna Dhamrait holds a MBA, a Child Development Program Director Permit and has been in the field of early childhood education for 15 years.

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The Cost of Childcare vs. College Tuition in Every State

10/28/2020

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Cost of childcare versus college tuition in every state, Jump Start Finance

In 32 states, the cost of child care is equal to or greater than the tuition and fees at a public college or university. In a vast majority of cases, those college expenses are financed using student loans. The question we asked: Why can’t child care be financed with a loan specifically for that purpose? Our answer: Why not? In fact, we surveyed nearly 500 parents of kids under six, and 80% of parents surveyed said they would use a loan - like a student loan - to pay for child care.

We created the KidVantage Loan specifically for child care to provide parents with the option to reduce their monthly payments by as much as 60% and pay over time with interest at a much better rate than credit cards. The financing program provides a new option for parents who may have chosen to leave the workforce to provide care at home, which has a lasting impact on family finances, as well as providing parents who are choosing a lesser quality of care exclusively due to cost the ability to choose the best care for their children.

Apply for free here

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