The 10 least-affordable states for full-time infant care in a center in 2010 were Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Colorado, Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Montana and Pennsylvania (naccrra, 2011).
The 10 least-affordable states for full-time care for a 4-year-old in a center in 2010 were New York, Montana, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Vermont, Colorado and Maine (naccrra, 2011).
The report also states that it costs the average two income family 10% of their income to have high-quality child care. As a person who does not use child-care, this amount surprised me. It should not cost so much of your salary to ensure your child is receiving proper child care. This interests me as a professional because the NACCRRA will use this report to lobby congress for affordable child care for all parents, not just the wealthy.
Resource -
NACCRRA (2011) Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2011 Update Retrieved from http://www.naccrra.org/publications/naccrra-publications/parents-and-high-cost-of-child-care-2011.php
The cost of child care is astronomical; how parents are able to afford it is beyond me. With our discussions on poverty, it feels like a rude awakening; the thought that those children living in poverty needing the benefits of early childhood education and not being able to access it. Again, I do wonder how quality is being defined. Thanks for the statistics; this information will give me pause as I do my budget this year and have to consider raising tuition.
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