Working Families
Access to affordable, reliable, and high-quality early learning and child care opportunities provides working families with better job stability and overall economic security.
Here are five things to know about child care and working families.
- Child care prices are untenable across all program types, age groups, and geographic locations. In 2021, the cost of infant care ranged from 24.6% to 75.1% of income for single-parent households.
- Child care helps parents return to or stay at work, which can generate an additional $94,000 in lifetime earnings for mothers.
- Almost half of parents are absent from work at least once every six months due to child care issues.
- 74% of mothers and 66% of fathers have left work early, arrived late, or been absent because child care fell through at the last minute.
- In a recent poll, 59% of part-time or non-working parents say they would go back to work full-time if their child had access to quality child care at a reasonable cost.
Learn more:
Posts
New Emergency Bills to Address Baby Formula Shortages
This week the House will consider two pieces of legislation intended to address the nationwide infant formula shortage and supply chain disruptions. On Tuesday, House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) …
For Moms Everywhere: Congress Should Invest in Child Care Before the Next Mother’s Day
Over the past two years, the pandemic has altered the landscape of motherhood, piling on even more new pressures and demands. Chief among those is the nationwide child care crisis: …
National Report Examines State Preschool Policies in 2020-2021
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released the 2021 State of Preschool report, an annual survey of state preschool policies. The 19th edition of the report focuses on …
Administration Expands Eligibility Criteria for Head Start Programs
Big news for young children and their families! On April 21st, the Office of Head Start (OHS) announced it would expand categorical eligibility to include children who qualify for the …
Health care workforce turnover rates 43% higher among women with children under five
A new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on turnover rates among health care workers. Turnover rates were 43% higher among women …
House Ways & Means Subcommittee Holds Bipartisan Hearing to Highlight the Tremendous Impact of MIECHV on Families Ahead of Reauthorization
This week the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support held a hearing on improving family outcomes through home visiting. In a demonstration of the broad bipartisan …
New Report from Wells Fargo: America’s Economy Relies on Child Care
Employers are currently struggling to hire workers while workers – particularly women – are struggling to rejoin the workforce. Why? In large part because working mothers are dependent on child …
Survey of 5,000 Early Educators Shows Federal Investment is Essential to Future of Child Care
A new survey of 5,000 child care providers from across the country reinforces that federal funding is essential to the success of America’s early learning system. The survey results show …
The Child Care Crisis: Why the Status Quo is Failing Families, Early Educators, and our Economy
Now is the time to support children and families by ensuring affordable, quality early care and education options. Finding and affording quality child care and early learning options shouldn’t be …
Gender “Quit” Gap Widest in States With Most Child Care Breakdowns
Nationwide, women are quitting their jobs at a higher rate than men. That gender quit gap is widest in the states with the most child care disruptions, according to a new report from the …
First Lady Jill Biden Highlights Importance of Child Care & Pre-K for Families, Economy
Today, Dr. Jill Biden visited a child development center at the University of Minnesota where she delivered remarks about the success of federal pandemic relief funding in stabilizing America’s child …
CCDBG: Program Overview
Child care is a necessity for low-income and working parents, yet the cost of quality care often places it out of reach for families. The Child Care & Development Block Grant …
