The Cost of Child Care BY ELAINE ZUKERMAN
T
alk to any new parent about child care and you’re sure to
under the age of 6 are on the waitlist for child care assistance
get a heated response. The cost of and access to quality
through North Carolina’s Child Care Subsidy program, according
child care, as well as its impact on parents’ jobs, can all
to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human
add up to serious stress. Parents play the lead role in
Services’ Division of Child Development and Early Education.
their child’s healthy development, but many rely on child care
Of these children on the waitlist, more than half are infants and
from their baby’s earliest days to make ends meet.
toddlers. According to ZERO TO THREE State Baby Facts for
According to research from national nonprofit ReadyNation, infant care in a North Carolina child care
outside the home, so quality child care becomes a necessity for
center costs an average of $9,254 per year or $771 per month.
those who can’t afford it.
(ReadyNation is a division of the Council for a Strong America, Photos courtesy of Hyejin Kang/Shutterstock.com
North Carolina, 62% of North Carolina mothers of infants work
The Child Care Subsidy program helps parents pay for child
which is a national, bipartisan nonprofit that unites five
care expenses so they can work or attend school while also
organizations of law enforcement leaders, retired admirals and
providing high-quality early education for their children during
generals, business executives, pastors, and prominent coaches
a critical time in their development. According to the North
and athletes.)
Carolina Early Education Coalition, researchers agree that access
For many low-income families, this is an impossible amount
to early learning better prepares children for success in school, as
to pay. The average cost of infant and toddler care represents
well as helps them become more likely to read on grade level by
61% of a North Carolina minimum wage worker’s annual income,
third grade and have the foundation they need to be productive
according to ReadyNation. Statewide, more than 20,000 children
members of the state’s future workforce.
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JULY 2019 | carolinaparent.com