EXCERPT FROM: Twin Cities Daily Parent
By Mary Turck
In Minnesota, paying for quality childcare has gotten much more difficult since 2003. Unaffordable childcare and lack of government support means lost time for workers and employers, and increases in the achievement gap for lower-income children. According to the "Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota" report, "Minnesota accredited childcare costs exceed college tuition."
How are women and girls doing in Minnesota? That's the question for the 150+ page report issued by the Women's Foundation of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute's Center on Women and Public Policy. This is one of a series of articles beginning with data and questions from the Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota report.
Research shows that, on average, children from higher-income families or parents with more education perform better at the skills needed for school readiness than children from lower-income families or with less-educated parents. Remarkably, these differences disappeared among Minnesota children enrolled in high-quality, accredited child care centers. The Lost Decade, Minnesota Budget Project
Because about 75 percent of Minnesota mothers (and 94 percent of dads) work outside the home at least half-time, childcare is an issue for most parents. Accredited childcare is more expensive than "family and friends" childcare, but may also provide increased developmental and educational support. Either kind of childcare is expensive, with the average infant care costing more than $1,000 per month and the average preschool care costing about $800. The graph below (from the Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota report) compares childcare costs with average mortgage and college costs.
Spending ten percent of family income on childcare is considered affordable. Low-income families in Minnesota spend a much higher proportion of their income for childcare. A 2004 Department of Human Services study found that the lowest-income families paid an average of 28 percent of their income for childcare.
Nearly half of all families with children under 12 rely on family, friends and neighbors for childcare. Another 32 percent use childcare centers and 10 percent use licensed family childcare.
High costs for childcare leave families struggling to patch together some sort of care, and taking whatever they can find. This is true for families at many income levels, but especially true for low-income families, whose children most need quality early educational support.
In 2004, more than one-third of Minnesota low-income parents said that childcare problems interfered with their ability to work. More than one-third of Minnesota parents at all income levels reported missing time from work in 2004 due to childcare problems. (That's in addition to any time missed due to children's illness.)