On Monday, May 13, daycare workers in several cities across the United States stayed home, to protest the low wages paid to these workers.
In recent months while various economic data reveal positive growth in several sectors of the US economy, many people are seemingly befuddled as to why a high percentage of Americans are expressing dissatisfaction with the economy. While data indicate a significant drop in the national inflation rate, many families are not experiencing a similar decline in their household expenses.
For families with children needing childcare to enable parents to go out and work to earn an income, childcare expenses at daycare facilities in South Florida for one child average some $600 weekly, $2400 monthly, or $30,000 annually. A Caribbean American parent said she’s paying $3,000 monthly for her two infant children. This is some 60 percent of her monthly salary. When an account is taken for rent, she’s hard-pressed to meet the cost of food, electricity, water, petrol, etc. This woman certainly doesn’t share the opinion that the US economy is sound and benefitting her.
This parent is among the few who can afford to pay for childcare at a daycare center. Other parents in the Caribbean American community seek the alternative of hiring childcare help to work in their homes. But this is also costly. Our research indicates that the average rate charged by in-home childcare help is $450 per 5-day week. Because of cultural preferences, some Caribbean American families seek to hire help from their own ethnic community, hoping this help is willing to accept lower rates of pay. For example, a Jamaican American family may prefer hiring a Jamaican woman to provide care as a nanny to their child. But while these nannies may accept a reasonably low salary initially, after a few weeks they often demand an increase, citing what other in-home caregivers earn.
The result of this high cost of childcare at daycare centers or in-home is that in many families one parent, sometimes the only parent, is forced to sacrifice working to stay home to care for their child/children. Of course, this places great financial stress on the family.
A Caribbean American father related how he was forced to give up his dental assistant job to care for his two toddler sons at home, while his wife, a state employee is employed as the sole breadwinner. But by doing this he says he’s saving the family approximately $1,200 weekly.
While there’s sympathy with the relatively low wages paid to daycare workers, estimated at averaging $14.50 per hour, should these workers succeed in getting higher wages, daycare centers will be forced to charge parents higher rates, making it more difficult for more families to afford to send their kids to these daycare centers.
Some parents try to solve their childcare problem by seeking to work from home while caring for their child/children. But as another South Florida Caribbean American parent revealed, this can also be a challenge. Companies hiring people to work from home providing customer service, for example, demand there are no background noises while the representative is on the phone with a customer. It’s not easy to keep infants or toddlers quiet for 8 hours to enable mom or dad to communicate with customers.
The Biden-Harris administration has made steps to assist families with childcare costs. Shortly after taking office in 2021, the administration signed The American Rescue Plan Act which expanded the child tax credit for tax year 2021. The Act increased the maximum credit to $3,000 per qualifying child between ages 6 and 17 and $3,600 per qualifying child under age 6. Eligible families received advanced payments of $250 per month for each qualifying child aged 6 to 17, and $300 per month for each qualifying child under age 6 at the end of 2021.
Earlier this year the administration announced revised childcare subsidies for some 100,000 low-income families, including families in South Florida. These subsidies allow eligible families to pay not more than 7 percent of their household income for childcare. However, this policy refers only to a limited number of low-income families. It doesn’t address the crisis faced by most middle-income families.
A national policy is needed to alleviate the pressure families face to meet the high cost of childcare. This cost is indirectly depleting the national workforce and is reducing the income-earning potential of many families. Opponents to providing childcare benefits to middle-class families will likely claim the federal government should not be responsible for subsidizing childcare for families, like how they argue against providing Social Security and Medicare benefits. But no doubt means can be found to find the necessary funds if only the political and ideological hurdles can be cleared. The American Rescue Plan Act did prove the means can be found.
Affordable childcare is a clear and present American crisis, which threatens to destroy the financial health of many families. This is a crisis which demands urgent attention.
