The prediction was that first, providers will raise their prices to cover the costs that were being covered by federal dollars, then they will serve fewer kids and close classrooms, and then they will close programs,” says Julie Kashen, director of women's economic justice for the Century Foundation. “We're seeing the first and second parts right now.”
Even states that made investments in the sector are seeing a downward spiral, happening over time,” the authors write. They point to a recent survey of child care providers that found nearly half had raised the price of tuition in the wake of the federal funding drying up.
In 2021, families below the poverty line spent 27% of their income on child care, up from 23% in 2019. For those with incomes at 100%-199% of the poverty line, payments were lower relative to income, but they still increased from 12% of income in 2019 to 17% in 2021.
Collection
[
|
...
]