Families across the country are tasked with the challenge of finding child care that is both affordable and reliable − and Delaware families are especially vulnerable to such struggles.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation released a report Wednesday that showed alarming data behind the child care crisis. The foundation found 13% of Delaware’s young children are in families in which someone “quit, changed, or refused a job” due to struggles finding child care.
In the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, a boatload of information is available regarding Delaware children and families.
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How much are Delaware families paying for child care?
Delaware parents pay an average of $11,695 for center-based child care, according to the report. That figure is 10% of a couple’s median income and a whopping 34% of a single mother’s median income.
While it’s a struggle to pay for child care, parents also struggle to find a reliable caretaker in the first place. Childcare workers in Delaware make a median wage of $12.84 per hour, per the foundation’s report.
The national child care pay rate is $13.71, lower than the $14.26 median wage for retail workers and $18.16 mark for customer service.
The combination of high costs and low salaries in the childcare industry makes for a tricky situation, which often ends up in parents sacrificing their own jobs or scaling back on hours.
Why advocates want investment in child care
In the Wednesday release, KIDS COUNT in Delaware expressed support for investment in child care at all three government levels and urged Congress to “reauthorize and strengthen” the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act that was passed back in 2014.
“When properly working, the early care and education system ensures that employers have a robust, stable workforce from which to draw talent,” said Janice Barlow, a policy scientist at the University of Delaware and a KIDS COUNT member, in the release.
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The child care crisis has been escalating since the pandemic both across the country and in Delaware, according to multiple reports. Just last summer, Child Care Aware of America released a report pushing for major changes to the country’s childcare system.
And the Rodel Foundation noted a large gap in the state – in 2022, there were nearly 20,000 more children under the age of 5 than there were child care slots in Delaware.
Have you had struggles finding affordable child care? Contact Konner Metz to share your story at kmetz@gannett.com or @konner_metz on Twitter.
