"It's past time that we treat childcare as what it is — an element whose contribution to economic growth is as essential as infrastructure or energy."
That's how U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen put it in a recent report that details how our current child care system fails to adequately serve families. I couldn't agree more.
We know that child care providers are heroes. As the parent of a third-grader, a lifelong advocate for children and families, and the daughter of a single mom, I've seen firsthand how your child care provider becomes a partner in your child's earliest years, providing supervision, foundational educational and social experiences, and empowering the workforce our employers need.
When the pandemic hit, child care providers stepped up to keep front-line workers going. Our hospitals and health systems told us that one-third or more of their staff depend on child care access. It is not an exaggeration to say that access to child care meant the difference between life and death for their patients.
But the way the child care industry functions now puts parents and providers alike in a tough spot. On average, child care costs can consume up to 13% of total income for families with children under age 5 according to the Treasury report — at a time when parents can least afford it. For lower-income families in greater Minnesota, access and affordability barriers are even greater, with parents traveling significant distances or splitting up their children to find an available slot.
Families must choose between bearing these high costs or a family member leaving the workforce entirely to care for the kids. For single parents, there isn't a choice at all.
For providers, revenue primarily comes directly from families. Rising costs means raising prices; trying to keep costs low means low wages for a workforce that is predominantly women and disproportionately people of color. Staff must in turn choose between a future of low wages for skilled and demanding work or leaving the field entirely, creating a staffing crisis that is only exasperated by worker shortages throughout our economy and leading to closed classrooms or reduced hours. No one wins in this cycle.
The reality is that our economy cannot function without child care. That's why Gov. Tim Walz and I leveraged public funding and private partnerships to support families and the child care industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included prioritizing more than $300 million of investments early on to invest in supports for public health costs, access to child care, raised child care assistance rates and new business supports. Support is continuing with about $535 million in child care investments from the American Rescue Plan, with $300 million going toward child care stabilization grants.