High quality child care impacts children over their whole life
There are numerous studies that demonstrate children that attend high quality child care do better in life. Doing better means children are more prepared for the structured education system after pre-school, earn better grades, rely less on remedial education or tutoring and have a lower involvement with the criminal justice system. The benefits extend beyond the scholastic period of one's life as well. Studies indicate the benefits of high quality child care have a positive impact on both employment rates and the amount that one earns later in life. In fact, research indicates high quality child care results in less stress on the social system by reducing the need for remedial education and less reliance on juvenile judicial programs.
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"Children who enter school at higher levels of readiness have higher earnings throughout their lives. These positive spillovers suggest that investments in early childhood can benefit society as a whole."
Economics of Early Childhood Investments |
Child care is one of family's largest expenses and rivals college tuition
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Infant care is more expensive than in-state college tuition in more than 30 states.
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.......As parents, we are reminded and encouraged to plan on saving for college tuition for our children. However, did you know child care is more than in-state college tuition! At the national level, infant care is about $9,200 per year where in-state college tuition averages $8,900 per year. How are young parents, early in their careers, expected to face an income shock close to or more expensive than college tuition right after the birth of their child?
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Child care is more expensive than median rent in almost all major cities in the US.
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More and more studies are being published that demonstrate child care is one of the largest household expense across America, and high quality care is out of reach for many working families. In fact, child care also rivals or exceeds median rent in most major US cities and, in most cases, consumes more than 10% of a family's gross household income, a level established as the affordability threshold by the Human and Health Services (HHS).
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Leaving the workforce is a common outcome, but is it a good choice?
Having both parents in the workforce is an economic necessity for many families. But a phrase that is becoming more common for parents is ‘I can’t afford to keep working’. At some point it may appear the math doesn’t work out for one parent to keep working to just barely cover the child care bills. But is that really the case? Many have studied this, and the Center for American Progress has made a calculator available to actually estimate the impact leaving the workforce will have on your family over the long run. In most cases, it is more harmful than helpful, and can cost families hundreds of thousands of dollars, reduce income stability and result in one parent being out of the workforce for good.
Take an example of a young couple who just had their second child in California. Their child care expense went from $8100 a year for their 4-year old, to a whopping $19,800 a year with the addition of an infant! If one parent makes around $42,000, after deductions, the child care bill is almost bigger than the take home paycheck. It seems like a no-brainer to stop working and take care of your own kids, right? Well studies demonstrate it is not the best decision for a variety of reasons.
First, exiting the workforce for a period of 5 years will cost this family more than $600,000 over their life, by eliminating earnings, reducing wage growth and not contributing to retirement accounts early in their career when it matters most!
Second, most who leave the workforce do not return in a full time capacity, costing the family more, later in life.
Lastly, while it seems like taking care of your kids at home is the best in class situation, evidence repeatedly demonstrates the benefits children receive from attending high quality child care far outweighs the alternatives.
Take an example of a young couple who just had their second child in California. Their child care expense went from $8100 a year for their 4-year old, to a whopping $19,800 a year with the addition of an infant! If one parent makes around $42,000, after deductions, the child care bill is almost bigger than the take home paycheck. It seems like a no-brainer to stop working and take care of your own kids, right? Well studies demonstrate it is not the best decision for a variety of reasons.
First, exiting the workforce for a period of 5 years will cost this family more than $600,000 over their life, by eliminating earnings, reducing wage growth and not contributing to retirement accounts early in their career when it matters most!
Second, most who leave the workforce do not return in a full time capacity, costing the family more, later in life.
Lastly, while it seems like taking care of your kids at home is the best in class situation, evidence repeatedly demonstrates the benefits children receive from attending high quality child care far outweighs the alternatives.
Our research confirms families struggle to afford high quality care
Our team conducted a research survey to learn more about how real people feel about the cost of child care and how they cope with the expense burden. We asked a series of questions, targeting families with at least one child under the age of 6, aimed at understanding the financial pressures child care creates and the ways families cope with the cost burdens. We found the average family spends a little over $950 per month on child care. Using the median income of the sample, the child care expense exceeded 17% of the household salary. Additionally we learned that about 9 out of 10 families pay using cash (or debit). When asked if they would be interested in financing a portion of their child care expense, nearly 50% of families showed an interest.
When we asked families how child care ranked in their top expenses, nearly 4 out of 5 families answered it was in their top five expenses. When asked how they cope with the high cost, families get creative. For example, about 3 out of 4 families (or parents) will adjust their work schedule(s) to reduce the number of hours their child spends in child care. Unfortunately, families also make choices that soften the near-term financial burden, but that can have a huge impact on their long-term financial outcome. For example, many families consider career change (66% of families surveyed) or make the decision for one parent exits the workforce (nearly 60% of families surveyed). While these near-term solutions may soften the current budget shortcomings, they can cost a family over $600,000 over their life...a pretty high price to pay without a viable alternative.
Parents will also adopt lower cost care to keep their jobs and earning potential at full steam. In fact, 2 out 3 families surveyed indicated they have elected more affordable child care solutions to offset the expense. But when asked if they felt like there was a trade off for quality, 1 out of 2 families felt the lower cost care alternatives came with a lower quality of care for their loved ones. Unfortunately, when straddled with the monthly child care bill that exceeds rent in most states, a family has to do what makes life keep going.
When we asked families how child care ranked in their top expenses, nearly 4 out of 5 families answered it was in their top five expenses. When asked how they cope with the high cost, families get creative. For example, about 3 out of 4 families (or parents) will adjust their work schedule(s) to reduce the number of hours their child spends in child care. Unfortunately, families also make choices that soften the near-term financial burden, but that can have a huge impact on their long-term financial outcome. For example, many families consider career change (66% of families surveyed) or make the decision for one parent exits the workforce (nearly 60% of families surveyed). While these near-term solutions may soften the current budget shortcomings, they can cost a family over $600,000 over their life...a pretty high price to pay without a viable alternative.
Parents will also adopt lower cost care to keep their jobs and earning potential at full steam. In fact, 2 out 3 families surveyed indicated they have elected more affordable child care solutions to offset the expense. But when asked if they felt like there was a trade off for quality, 1 out of 2 families felt the lower cost care alternatives came with a lower quality of care for their loved ones. Unfortunately, when straddled with the monthly child care bill that exceeds rent in most states, a family has to do what makes life keep going.
