CAP hopes quantifying these large-and largely hidden-opportunity costs will help policymakers understand how important affordable high-quality child care is for raising family incomes and growing the economy. The absence of such tools underscores that even with many families relying on all parents working and still feeling financially strained, American society still does not view giving families more child care choices as a serious economic issue. As trivial as this insight is in economics, CAP could not locate a tool to help families consider opportunity costs in choosing child care arrangements. The most important insight, however, is that any serious economic analysis of child care affordability must be rooted in opportunity costs. These dollar figures are important for families and policymakers. CAP’s tool calculates the monetary value of those costs in terms of potential income and retirement savings. #THE HIDDEN BUSINESS COSTS OF POOR CHILDCARE POLICIES FREE#In fact, as explained later, the cost of so-called free care is much more than a parent’s lost wages. The single most important contribution this tool makes, and the most important lesson for families using the tool, is placing these financial tradeoffs in the economic framework of opportunity costs, or costs people incur when they lose out on potential gains.Ĭhild care is expensive, but quitting a job to avoid that expense does not make child care free. To help families calculate the financial costs of interrupting a career so a parent can become a full-time caregiver, the Center for American Progress has developed a simple, customizable interactive tool. Many low-income and middle-class families are stuck in a financial catch-22, with too little income today to afford child care that can sustain careers, raise incomes considerably, and provide a measure of financial security for the rest of their lives. Each year out of work can cost a family significantly more than three times a parent’s annual salary in lifetime income. For most low-income and middle-class families, there is little government help with child care costs, but the cost of career interruptions can add up dramatically over a lifetime. Yet the long-term cost can be much higher than these figures suggest when parents-and mothers in particular-find that expensive child care means they can barely afford to work until their children are old enough for public school. This brief explores the financial toll that the latter decision places on families. This leaves many families to choose between spending a sizable portion of their paycheck on child care, finding less expensive-and possibly lower quality-unregulated child care, or leaving the workforce to become a full-time caregiver. The average annual cost to have two children in a child care center is nearly $18,000. The child care affordability crisis in the United States can be summed up in two sentences. Sixty-five percent of children younger than age 5 have all co-habiting parents in the workforce. Make sure they pass all medical checks and can verify it by providing a health certificate issued by a physician.See also: Interactive: The Hidden Cost of a Failing Child Care System The gym childcare supervisor will be working with dozens of children each day. Check your state requirements to determine if the employees pass them. In most states, it’s illegal to hire people without a clean background for childcare. To ensure the welfare of the children at your gym childcare, you have to check if the potential hires have a criminal background. If you hire supervisors without a certification, ask them whether they’d be open to taking a safety certification course. Typically these courses cost $100-150, and teachers can be certified in as little as a few hours. Ask whether the potential hires have received safety training, such as CPR/first-aid training. Doing so will help you narrow your selection down to the most qualified candidates. Ask for certifications in child care or child development. While experience is essential, there are certifications that potential hires can present to you as a testament to their expertise in child care. You can also hire people who worked with children in other environments, such as former school teachers and camp leaders. Many babysitters will have 10-20 years of experience. #THE HIDDEN BUSINESS COSTS OF POOR CHILDCARE POLICIES HOW TO#The length of the supervisor’s experience with children is a crucial factor because experienced people know how to discipline children and handle big groups of children at once.
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