ED447966 PS029082
Title: The High Cost of Child Care Puts Quality Care out of Reach for Many Families. Issue Brief.
Author(s): Schulman, Karen
Author Affiliation: Children's Defense Fund, Washington, DC.(BBB13369)
Pages: 47
Publication Date: 2000
Notes: For 1998 edition, see ED 426 785.
Sponsoring Agency: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD. (BBB32721)@Ford Foundation, New York, NY. (QPX27000)@Mott (C.S.) Foundation,
Flint, MI. (BBB04331)@Booth Ferris Foundation, New York, NY. (BBB35866)@Citigroup Foundation, New York, NY. (BBB35865)@Prudential
Foundation, Newark, NJ. (BBB18809)
Available from: EDRS Price MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.
Language: English
Document Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data (110); Reports--Evaluative (142)
Geographic Source: U.S.; District of Columbia
Journal Announcement: RIEMAY2001
This issue brief presents data on the cost of child care, collected from local child care resource and referral agencies (CCR&Rs) surveyed by the Children's Defense Fund. The report's key findings on the high cost of child care are: (1) child care for a 4-year-old in a child care center averages $4,000 to $6,000 a year in cities and states around the country. Some centers charge $10,000 or more a year. Families with younger children or more than one child in care face even greater costs; (2) the average annual cost of child care for a 4-year-old in an urban area center is more than the average annual cost of public college tuition in all but one state. In some cities, child care costs twice as much as college tuition; (3) child care is expensive for families whether they choose center care or family child care, whether they live in urban or rural areas, or whether they have infants, preschoolers, or school-age children; (4) low-income families are left with the fewest choices, often unable to afford even average-priced care and therefore forced to put children in lower-cost, often lower quality care; and (5) the dilemma of high-cost child care cannot be resolved by asking child care providers to lower their prices. Most programs already operate on a very tight budget, paying staff an average $15,000 a year. (HTH)
Descriptors: *Day Care; Day Care Centers; Early Childhood Education; Economically Disadvantaged; Tables (Data)
Identifiers: *Child Care Costs; Child Care Needs; Child Care Resource Centers
