Child care in America is in crisis. Can we fix it? | The Excerpt
On Sunday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: If you are a parent or know someone with young children, you’ve heard the complaint. Child care is simply unaffordable, costing families more than $10,000 a year on average. And, more than half of Americans have no access to it at all; they live in what are called child care deserts. Meanwhile, the end of COVID-era subsidies has forced some providers out of the business altogether. What can working families do? Julie Kashen, director for women's economic justice at The Century Foundation, joins The Excerpt to talk about some possible solutions.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Dana Taylor:
Hello and welcome to The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Sunday, June 30th, 2024.
If you're a parent or know someone with young children, you've heard the complaint, childcare has long been unaffordable, costing families more than $10,000 a year on average, and more than half of Americans have no access to childcare at all. They live in what are called childcare deserts. Meanwhile, the end-of-COVID era childcare subsidies have forced some providers out of the childcare business. What's the solution here for working families? Our guest, Julie Kashen, is the director for Women's Economic Justice at the Century Foundation. Thanks for being on The Excerpt, Julie.
Julie Kashen:
Thanks for having me.
Dana Taylor:
You recently testified in Congress about the issue of the growing lack of access to childcare for some families. What is it that you find most alarming about this issue?
Julie Kashen:
Most families need childcare at some point. The majority of parents are working. Whether it's a solo-parent household or dual-parent household, the majority of parents are in the workforce, and so that means that their children need a safe, nurturing place to go when they're at work. What the problem is in the United States, we do not have a plan. We don't have a system. We got really close in the Build Back Better Act of building a system, but it did not happen. And that means that it's really a DIY, do it yourself kind of a thing. But we also know that it shouldn't be every family for themselves. This is a systemic problem, and when we invest in our children, everybody's better off. So in helping families to solve these individual problems, we'd actually be helping all of America.
Dana Taylor:
What can legislators do to help stabilize childcare across the country, and what would that mean for economic mobility and poverty in the United States?
Julie Kashen:
President Biden's plan and the Build Back Better plan would have made such a difference. It would have basically made it so every family would have access to affordable childcare, would've built out the options so that families have lots of choices. It would have had enough public resources that we could raise the wages of early educators who are currently paid poverty-level wages, but in a way that did it so that didn't come out of a parent's pocketbook, that didn't come out of a parent's wallet, that it came out of the public sector so that we'd be investing in the best early educators to give our children the best possible start in life and partner with their parents to provide that kind of care. That's the vision.
In addition, during the American Rescue Plan Act and the previous COVID relief packages, there were billions of dollars that were historic and unprecedented put into stabilizing the childcare sector and supporting families. That money has either run out or is about to run out, so we have asked for $16 billion in additional funding to continue to support the sector in the short term while we work to build toward those long-term changes.
Dana Taylor:
What are some of the most innovative solutions to help families get access to childcare? Are there any promising new technologies on that front?
Julie Kashen:
The bottom line is that the thing that will make the biggest difference is these public sector dollars that we're talking about, because really, it shouldn't be parents versus providers, where parents can't afford to pay these high prices to pay higher wages for early educators. We are seeing the private sector come in as well, and we are seeing more and more public private partnerships. I have questions about how do we make sure that we're getting access to everyone who needs it, how we're not just favoring certain employees. You don't want to have to win the boss lottery to get childcare for your kid. So relying on private-sector solutions doesn't always work, and it doesn't get to everyone.
That being said, some of the innovations I'm seeing are around data especially, and I think a lot of times people are really hungry for data, and so the companies that are building out the ability to find out what's the availability of childcare in an area, where can I find childcare? Who's providing it? Where are the biggest gaps so we know what needs to be filled. I think that's incredibly helpful.
Another thing I would look at is industrial policy. So the United States put something like $2 trillion into building out manufacturing, building out our climate change, physical infrastructure. In doing that, we need to hire millions of more people. That's going to include a lot of parents, and so making sure that some of those dollars go in to supporting a care infrastructure is important. And in fact, the CHIPS and Science Act is a policy where many companies are going to be getting these grants or have already gotten these grants to build out semiconductor manufacturing fabs around the country. And Secretary Raimondo has said they have to have a childcare plan in place when they get this funding if it's more than $150 million.
So that's also leading to some innovation where someone like Micron in New York State and Idaho are really thinking about how do we get childcare that works for not just the employees, but also the surrounding communities? How do we make sure that center-based care is available, that we have home-based care available, that parents know where to go to find childcare?
Dana Taylor:
Who are the people most likely to find themselves in childcare deserts? Is the lack of access to any childcare at all primarily a rural issue, or is this happening even in heavily populated areas?
Julie Kashen:
We are seeing childcare deserts all across the country, in every type of community. Certainly in rural areas, it is more of a challenge, and people who are living further apart, it becomes a bigger issue because commutes are more challenging. But we know that people in suburbs and in cities are sometimes commuting an hour to drop their child off at childcare and then continuing on another 40 minutes to their job and then back at the other end. That means that they're spending less time with their families. That's not what we want as a country. We want to make sure that people in every community have access to childcare that works for them, that's convenient, that's safe, that's nurturing to their children.
Dana Taylor:
What other factors, such as race and socioeconomic status, play into whether a working family can access care?
Julie Kashen:
Certainly race plays a factor in the access to childcare. For one thing, right now, we have a system where those who have the most wealth have the most access. That's not the way it should be. Every child, regardless of their race, their zip code, their family's income deserve to have great care, that sets them up for success and that takes care of their needs today. It helps them meet their social emotional needs, that really teaches them language skills, that gives them the things that they need in life, and that gives them the love that they need too. And right now, what's happening is that because of the history of wealth in America where white families have more wealth because of the history of slavery, that means that a lot of families of color are less resourced to reach out and get the childcare supports that they need. There's also the fact that in communities of color, there is less childcare options. So it does really, unfortunately, break down by race.
Dana Taylor:
Access to childcare is of course essential for working parents, but as you've shared, there are many families who simply can't afford it. How is that impacting the economy?
Julie Kashen:
What that means is that they're losing out on economic security, and we know that economic security matters to children, that in less economically secure households, that children may face more stress, more health issues. And so the more that we can support parents to be able to work and be there for their children, the better off those children will be and the better off the economy will be. We know that when we invest in childcare, that actually yields billions of dollars in the economy. That means that employers can rely on their employees to have fewer childcare disruptions that impact the productivity of the business. It means that there's more money in the pockets of parents that they can spend in the economy. 61 years ago, when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, he noted that the next step was investing in childcare, that we can't have equal pay between men and women if we don't also invest in childcare. The two go hand-in-hand, and it's been recognized that way for more than 60 years.
Dana Taylor:
What are some of the biggest hurdles in implementing solutions to the issue of access to childcare and affordability?
Julie Kashen:
The number one issue in access and affordability is really having the public funding to do this well. We don't ask parents to carry the full freight of K-12 education. Majority of parents know that their child can go to third grade. They don't have to write a check for the building and the teachers. That's not how it is for childcare. For childcare, most of the time, the full freight is paid by parents, and it's just not affordable. So solving for that requires that we invest the resources, that we have the political will to do it. We know we have the money to do it. There's trillions of dollars in corporate tax breaks and tax breaks for the wealthiest families that are going to be considered this year as the Trump tax cuts expire in 2025. And that money could be used to invest in the care sector. That money could be used to think about what do children need? What do everyday families need? And that would make a huge difference. So I think we have the solutions. We just need the political will to implement them.
Dana Taylor:
Can you offer any advice to working parents who are struggling right now to find or maintain access to consistent affordable childcare?
Julie Kashen:
I think number one is just you are not alone. So often we internalize this as this is my fault. And even critics say this. If you can't afford it, don't have kids. Kids are not a yacht. This is not the same thing. We all have an interest in the next generation. We all should care about all of our children. And so I think starting to see this as this is not a personal failing, this is not something to feel guilty about. This is a societal problem, and it's something that could be solved. So if you're facing it right now, it is really hard. But there is help out there, and there are childcare options, and I think there are lots of creative ways to get at them.
There is a federal program for the lowest-income families, and it's been made more accessible over the last few years as a result of the pandemic. So if you have a low income, you may be eligible for the childcare development block grants. In addition, if you are higher-income family, you're probably eligible for the child and dependent care tax credit. That's only something that you can get at tax time, but it does reduce some of the bill. So we do have some things in place already, and please speak up, tell your stories, because I think the more we see each other in each other's stories, the more helpful it will be for social change.
Dana Taylor:
Can you give us an example of a city or even a state that is getting it right on the issue of childcare?
Julie Kashen:
I'm really excited about what's happening in the States this year. We have seen more progress on childcare over the last few years than we have since I've been doing this work, at least a decade. So in Vermont, we are seeing huge progress. They had a 10-year campaign where they have now achieved significant funding for childcare. It's going to lower cost for families, it's going to expand supply. Similarly, in New Mexico, they had a ballot initiative where they dedicated $150 million a year toward childcare and early learning. So they now have a dedicated source of funding every single year to support families to get more childcare to families that's affordable, where early educators get a raise as well.
Minnesota has made progress as well. Also Massachusetts. They have invested in the providers. They have invested directly in expanding supply and making it easier for people to run childcare programs because they now have access to the capital they need to pay the teachers better, to pay their rents every month, to pay their utility bills. It is long past time for us to invest in a comprehensive childcare and early learning system that guarantees great childcare for every family who needs it and wants it.
Dana Taylor:
And do you know what the next step of that would be? The very next thing that you'd like to see?
Julie Kashen:
I think that the care agenda, the issues around care, childcare, paid family and medical leave, care for aging adults and disabled people. These are going to be hot topics as we look at this next election cycle. And I think the more we hear from candidates, from the presidential level to state legislators talking about these issues, the more likely we set it up for success so that when folks are legislating about it, they will have them top of mind. I think it's part of that. I'm hopeful that we see more moms in Congress, more moms elected to government, because I think that when moms are there, then we get more progress.
Dana Taylor:
Julie, thank you so much for joining us on the excerpt.
Julie Kashen:
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Dana Taylor:
Thanks for our senior producer Shannon Rae Green for our production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think for this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with another episode of The Excerpt.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Child care in America is in crisis. Can we fix it? | The Excerpt
