The Economic Realities of Child Care

Child care is one of the most significant costs plaguing families, and as the child care crisis rages on, both access and affordability are increasingly out of reach. President Joe Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act is a significant win in reducing costs for families, but without meaningful federal investments, this critical sector will continue to fall behind. As pandemic-era relief funds dwindle, families across the country will face a reality in which child care is no longer attainable. Yet the crisis does not only affect families. Providers and small-business owners across the country will also feel the burden of insufficient funds to sustain access to child care through greater difficulty in finding employees, preventing employee turnover, and paying workers enough to enable them to meet all the financial demands facing their families. A future with more closures, growing child care deserts, and fewer options for families means greater economic costs for communities everywhere.