Like all single parents, Waukegan real estate agent Eldridge Johnson knows his children come first.
Even if that means spending a little extra money to ensure that Andre, 12, Javonn, 3, and Kayden, 2, have the best of care when he is working.
Illinois is ranked among states that are least afforable for full-time care, just behind Wisconsin, Oregon, New York and Minnesota.
Illinois parents pay $10,198 a year for infants and toddler care.
With an average of $8,150 per year ($679 a month), day-care costs for infants and toddlers in the United States range from $4,388 to $14,647 a year ($366 to $1,221 monthly).
Child care has become a major household expense for working parents, who have to make tough decisions when it comes to weighing the pros and cons of selecting the proper care for their children.
"It's tough when you have to pay a lot of money to put your children in a day-care center," Johnson said, who pays $350 a month in day-care services for his two youngest children. "I know price and affordability came first when deciding where my kids would be going. You want them to have the best care possible, but you don't want to burn a hole in your wallet either."
According the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, the average price of full-time care for an infant in a licensed center can be as high as $14,600 a year. For a 4-year-old in a licensed facility, parents can pay up to $10,000 in Illinois.
A single-parent pays an average of 43 percent of his or her paycheck for infant day care at a licensed center, the agency said.
While children are in the baby and toddler stages, parents will pay more. That is because children in those age groups need more hands-on care, and so the center must hire more caregivers. Many centers are nonprofit and simply charge what they need to in order to cover expenses, which leads to high costs at some centers.
Some Lake County parents have sought affordable care through the YWCA Child Care Resource and Referral program. Aimed at low-income families, that program offers parents a list of centers that meet their budget and quality-of-care concerns.
"Some of these parents make barely between $7.50 and $8.50 an hour, which is not enough to afford most child-care services," said YWCA parent counselor Elvira Ortega.
Ortega said the program helps parents receive customized child-care referrals from a list of 600 area centers. A family's monthly income must not exceed $4,100 for a family of eight and $2,100 for a family of two to receive assistance from the program. The most expensive child-care centers are found in Lake Forest, and the least expensive are found in Waukegan, Ortega said.
Johnson said he explored numerous day-care centers in Waukegan on his own before deciding on Patti-Cake Child Care Center and Preschools Inc. after hearing good reviews from friends who had children enrolled there.
"I checked out some centers in other areas, but the cost to send my kids to them is almost more than I make in a week," he said.