Breaking down a proposal for a 7% cap on child care costs

The child care policy proposals in the headlines this week caught our eye. ?? Moms want to know what it would mean to cap child care costs at 7% for working families. We talked to the The Century Foundation's Child Care Expert, Julie Kashen to break it down for us.

What would a 7% cap on child care costs mean for families?

JK: For the first time, child care would be affordable for America’s families. Research shows this could lower costs for families by ~ $5,000 a year/family and guarantee free child care for the most under-resourced families. Today, families are paying more for child care than rent or mortgage, so this would lower costs for millions of families.

Will a cap on child care costs solve our child care crisis?

JK: Parents need an abundance of affordable child care options that meet their families’ needs and ensure their children are safe, nurtured and learning. That means to solve the child care crisis, we need to lower prices, compensate early educators well for their complex and valuable work, and build child care supply.

How do child care and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) work together?

JK: Families need both child care policies and the CTC to have the freedom to work and engage in their communities and provide their children with the homes, food, clothing and educational materials they need to thrive.

Together, CTC and child care policies will help lower costs for families, raise wages for early educators, and build the supply of affordable child care.

What about child care workers? How do we ensure they're paid fairly?

JK: Low wages are crushing the child care sector, leading to staffing shortages, causing providers to either raise prices or close classrooms.

Strong child care proposals ensure higher wages and wage ladders for early educators that both better reflect the value of their work, and will help with the recruitment and retention of a qualified workforce.