Child care is seldom a luxury but it often is a necessity.
Yet, a combination of increasing child care costs, few incentives for employers to assist in the process and skilled employees entering other fields due to low compensation has blurred the separation.
When a family with an income of $55,000 is spending between $7,000 and $10,000 per child annually on child care, which is rising by $730 each year, parents may be placed in an untenable position, according to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
“In this difficult economy, parents cannot afford the rising cost of child care. Families’ incomes are just not keeping pace,” she said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
Folts Homes Child Care Center, in Herkimer, costs $24 per day for the first child, ages 3 to 12, according to Ashley Pearsall, interim director. A family placing two kids pays $20 per day for the second child, and employees get discounts to $16 for the first and $10 for the second she added.
Half day rates are $16 for the first child and $12 for the second, with employees paying $10 and $8 comparatively.
The 41 slots available, as set by the state based on facility size, can also fill up pretty quick. “We’ve had years that we’d have to tell parents no,” Pearsall said.
In an attempt to relieve the pressure on parents, child care centers and businesses, Gillibrand announced legislation targeting all three.
The Right Start Child Care and Education Act would address deficiencies in the dependent and child care tax credit, according to Gillibrand. Increased by a mere $600 since 1981, when it was capped at $2,400, the deduction would be doubled to $6,000 to reflect inflation and child care costs, she added.
Businesses looking to provide on-site care would see tax deductions rise from 25 percent to 35 percent. And employers helping workers find child care would make tax deductions of 35 percent instead of 25 percent currently, with a maximum amount jumping from $150,000 to $225,000.
The Family Work Flexibility Act also looks to encourage business involvement with a $500 tax credit for telecommuting equipment, which enables working from home, Gillibrand said.
Access to tax credits for parents continuing their education would also be expanded to part-time students through the legislation.
But to attract these educated and skilled parents to the child care field, which has decreased from 43 percent with college degrees in 1980 to less than 30 percent, something needs to be done about wages, according to Gillibrand.
Pearsall said part-time employees at Folts Homes Child Care Center start at $7.15 an hour, and those with two-year or four-year degrees begin at $12 an hour. State certifications requirements, including tests and background checks, must also be met in order to work at the center, she added.
Washington D.C. —
