(C) Common Dreams
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States Where Families Have the Biggest Challenge Finding Child Care [1]
['Sharon Lurye', 'Feb.', 'At A.M.']
Date: 2022-02-01
A record-setting COVID-19 wave, staff shortages and winter weather meant many kids across the U.S. couldn’t go to their regular day care in the past month – and, as a result, finding child care has been a nightmare for families, especially in Northeast and Midwest states.
A new Household Pulse Survey from the Census Bureau finds that from Dec. 29 through Jan. 10, over 1 in 4 families with children under the age of 5 reported that they could not send their kids to child care because of safety concerns or because their usual option was closed, unavailable or unaffordable.
New Jersey was the hardest-hit state, as 39% of households with children under 5 said they had challenges with child care. Rhode Island followed next, with 37% of families affected, followed by Wisconsin, with 36%. The District of Columbia was also hard-hit, with 38% of families affected.
These challenges led to real hardship for families. In Rhode Island, for example, 16% of families with young kids said that someone in their household had to take unpaid leave to take care of the little ones. In New Jersey, 17% of households said someone had to cut their work hours. And in Wisconsin, 11% said someone in the household had to quit their job entirely.
Utah was the least-affected state, as only 10% of households with the youngest children reported problems. West Virginia (14%) and Louisiana (15%) were also relatively spared.
The survey asked families if they were unable to send their kids to daycare sometime in the prior four weeks. Nationally, 27% of families with kids under the age of 5 said they couldn’t access child care. Families with older kids had a slightly easier time, as 18% of families with kids ages 5-11 reported they couldn’t access child care.
For comparison, when the Census asked the same question one month prior, only 21% of families with kids under 5 said that child care access was an issue. Even during this autumn’s delta-fueled surge, the country did not see such a high portion of families reporting struggles with finding child care.
As a result of child care issues, 9% of families with the youngest kids said someone in the household had to cut work hours, 7% reported someone having to take unpaid leave and 4% said someone had to leave their job to take care of kids.
In the Seattle metro area, a whopping 40% of families with kids under 5 couldn’t access child care. Other hard-hit metro areas included Chicago (36%) and Detroit (34%).
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[1] Url:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2022-02-01/states-where-families-have-the-biggest-challenge-finding-child-care
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