The Child Care Crisis
by Diana Love
Nicholas Schaefer and his wife Amanda were thrilled in 2021 when they found out they were expecting a child. Amanda is an active duty service member, and the couple hoped to find infant childcare on the military base where she worked. But they quickly discovered long wait lists, not only at Amanda's workplace but even more so in the Odenton area where they lived. Many childcare centers Nicholas and Amanda explored required non-refundable deposits, some of which were equal to one month of childcare or more. The center where they finally found care for their son required the first month's tuition and an equal deposit in advance. The $2,000-per-month childcare solution they finally sourced didn't feel like a solution at all; in fact, it became a crushing expense. Ask any parent, politician, or provider about infant, toddler, or early childhood care, and you will quickly find it a hot-button topic with nearly universal agreement: quality care is difficult to find and hard to afford. Stories of years-long waitlists, expensive deposits, and costly tuition for childcare abound. Every day, we read comments in the Annapolis Moms Facebook group about the lack of high-quality, affordable childcare in Anne Arundel County. These stories are based on fact. A recent Maryland Office of the Comptroller report notes that between 2019 and 2023, the average cost of child care increased by 14% to 30%. A recent study by the Maryland Family Network positions the current median income in our area against the average annual cost of childcare for a family with an infant and toddler. The cost of childcare is about $27,403 annually, a whopping 20% of the average yearly income of $136,266 and far above the 7% recommended as a budget guideline by the federal government. Solutions for finding, accessing, or affording childcare are few and complex, making building a career especially difficult for folks living in a "child care desert," as is the case for families in Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Meade/Severn, Brooklyn Park, and South County, all areas with the most limited child care access. In Anne Arundel County, 7.7% of children under age 5 live in poverty. Often, these deserts impact People of Color and low-income earners the most, preventing them from being able to afford rent or food and causing them to hold multiple jobs at once or seek substandard care. At its essence, the childcare crisis impacts these families in the most nefarious ways by propelling the social injustices that result in generational trauma and cycles of poverty.
Childcare in Maryland is characterized as "broken," and "in crisis." County agencies like the Partnership for Children, Youth and Families and state departments such as the Office of the Comptroller, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), and Governor Wes Moore recognize the problem and note the economic ramifications that will only compound without solutions. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce points to ReadyNation's projection of a $2.2 billion annual economic impact in Maryland solely from the shortage of infant and toddler care. This staggering figure doesn't account for the lack of care for older children.
1 Average cost of full-time care in a family child care home (LOCATE, 2023). 2 Average cost of full-time care in a child care center (LOCATE, 2023). 3 National average cost of food at home based on a moderate cost plan (Cost of Food at Home Estimated for Food Plans at Four Cost Level, July 2023), U.S. Average, United States Department of Agriculture). 4Based on U.S. Bureau of the Census 2020 median selected owner costs with a mortgage; included mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities. 5State and local taxes per Comptroller of Maryland (2023), Medicare and FICA taxes per moneychimp.com (2023). Taxes do not reflect Earned Income Credit. 6Current income as shown in the Geolytics Report dated July 2023. This data cannot be compared to previous data.
Employers say the rising cost of childcare makes it harder for them to retain employees and that productivity falls when parents have to leave work to care for their children. A Maryland Family Network report found that childcare breakdowns led to 49.9% of working parents missing work, costing employers $2.41 billion, and reducing Maryland’s economic output by $1.28 billion. The overall opportunity
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