At $11,000 per year, the cost of child care is a major expense for working parents

[chanel]

Infant care in 2011 cost more than $11,000 per year on average, more than the annual cost of tuition at some state colleges, the report by The New Jersey Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies says.

The high cost, experts said, is not just a financial issue for families but an economic factor in getting New Jersey residents back to work. Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties are among the least affordable areas because incomes are proportionally lower.

“We can make a case that this affects the entire state because the economy won’t grow if we can’t keep these people in the workplace,” said Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, R-Monmouth, who hosted a forum in Atlantic City last month on improving opportunities for working women.

Center owners said they have tried to accomodate families, but the state-licensed and regulated centers are expensive to operate. The state requires one adult for every four infants, and there are insurance, security and environmental requirements that can be costly.

At $11,000 per year, the cost of child care is a major expense for working parents - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Breaking News

$11,000 per year? Hmmmm. What's up with that?

 

[dblack]

Infant care in 2011 cost more than $11,000 per year on average, more than the annual cost of tuition at some state colleges, the report by The New Jersey Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies says.

The high cost, experts said, is not just a financial issue for families but an economic factor in getting New Jersey residents back to work. Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties are among the least affordable areas because incomes are proportionally lower.

“We can make a case that this affects the entire state because the economy won’t grow if we can’t keep these people in the workplace,” said Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, R-Monmouth, who hosted a forum in Atlantic City last month on improving opportunities for working women.

Center owners said they have tried to accomodate families, but the state-licensed and regulated centers are expensive to operate. The state requires one adult for every four infants, and there are insurance, security and environmental requirements that can be costly.

At $11,000 per year, the cost of child care is a major expense for working parents - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Breaking News

$11,000 per year? Hmmmm. What's up with that?

If you're not going to look after your own kids, you have to pay someone else to do it. Where's the mystery?

 

[Rozman]

Maybe people should wait to get married,or at least wait until they can afford to have kids.

 

[squeeze berry]

when they get to school age they have the right to free and appropriate public babysitting

 

[chanel]

Could it be the subsidies driving up the cost? See higher ed.

 

[Care4all]

the article said for "an infant"....so this means that if the mother is a full time worker, then her child will be in day care about 45 -50 hours a week, and if she pays only $5.00 an hour for this care, it would be over $11k a year for day care....even if she only paid $4.00 an hour for daycare, it would still be over 10k come year end...

That's a lot, and many women have chosen not to work due to this and frankly, If they are not getting paid much themselves for working, it is not worth it for some women.

 

[Moonglow]

I had to pay 40 a week even inthe later '80's when I was a single parent. For one child, I ended up sending him to private preschool since the cost was only 10 a week more.

 

[Katzndogz]

Time for the government to pay for child care!

 

[Care4all]

maybe it is not time for the government to pay for healthcare, but it could be time for them to give incentives, tax incentives, for more people to get in to the day care business...sounds like there is much opportunity for people to get in to this business.

Is New Jersey's State laws too strict? Not strict enough? What is preventing the supply from meeting the demand? If the supply can keep up with the demand then prices would be lower.

 

[alan1]

the article said for "an infant"....so this means that if the mother is a full time worker, then her child will be in day care about 45 -50 hours a week, and if she pays only $5.00 an hour for this care, it would be over $11k a year for day care....even if she only paid $4.00 an hour for daycare, it would still be over 10k come year end...

That's a lot, and many women have chosen not to work due to this and frankly, If they are not getting paid much themselves for working, it is not worth it for some women.

This.........
Picture a married woman makes $22k a year. Her husband makes $35k a year. They pay $11k for daycare if she works. They are probably better off is she stays home with the kid and avoids the $11k daycare. $57k annual income pays a lot more than $35k in annual income taxes. Essentially, her income pays nothing but taxes and daycare.
Add a second child to the daycare costs and it gets worse.
Add more meals out instead of home cooked meals because both parents are too tired to cook.
Add a second car so both parents can commute. (gas, insurance, care payment, maintenance)
Add a second cell phone since both parents are out of the home.
The list goes on.

 

[alan1]

maybe it is not time for the government to pay for healthcare, but it could be time for them to give incentives, tax incentives, for more people to get in to the day care business...sounds like there is much opportunity for people to get in to this business.

Is New Jersey's State laws too strict? Not strict enough? What is preventing the supply from meeting the demand? If the supply can keep up with the demand then prices would be lower.

Seriously?
I already disagree with things such as farm subsidies (tax incentives/tax breaks), oil subsidies (tax incentives/tax breaks), green energy subsidies (tax incentives/tax breaks), etc.
Why would I want yet another excuse for the government to meddle in free enterprise to the extent that they alter the playing field?

 

[Care4all]

maybe it is not time for the government to pay for healthcare, but it could be time for them to give incentives, tax incentives, for more people to get in to the day care business...sounds like there is much opportunity for people to get in to this business.

Is New Jersey's State laws too strict? Not strict enough? What is preventing the supply from meeting the demand? If the supply can keep up with the demand then prices would be lower.

Seriously?
I already disagree with things such as farm subsidies (tax incentives/tax breaks), oil subsidies (tax incentives/tax breaks), green energy subsidies (tax incentives/tax breaks), etc.
Why would I want yet another excuse for the government to meddle in free enterprise to the extent that they alter the playing field?

I was speaking about New Jersey, and their problem...they can do what they please within the state to solve their own problems, not speaking federally!

And honestly, I don't know their specifics....you are right, maybe tax incentives are not the way to go....but telling businesses that maybe they should pay their employees more if they need people and there are not enough around in the workforce for them to hire....is apparently unacceptable as well....

 

[blimpo]

Puts the cost of school in perspective. At those rates per day, imagine what a teacher with 30 kids in a room would earn.

 

[old navy]

My wife actually left the Navy after 13 years in order to spend more time with our two kids. It wasn't a money issue as we were both making plenty of that, but a time issue. We were in Norfolk and dropped the kids off at day care before the sun came up and picked thm up after sunset. That was during the mid-90s and two years later during the Clinton draw-down, they offered 15 year retirement. Two more years and she would have gotten an Uncle Sam direct deposit for the rest of her life. It was worth it though as the kids benefitted greatly from her being at home with them.

 

[Care4all]

Why are there so many "disconnects" in the marketplace between supply and demand? This "out of control" daycare costs should have been solved via the natural market....Demand is high, supply is low...gives us the higher prices. But the market place is suppose to adjust...more people are suppose to enter the supply side...increasing supply, due to the overbearing demand, which in turn increases competition and lowers prices....

How come this has not been the case with Daycare?

 

[chanel]

Excellent question care and you may have answered it above. The regulations (and the salivating lawyers) have made it nearly impossible for someone to set up a small family daycare. Only those with deep pockets and a team of lawyers on retainer can take the risk. There are other issues as well - namely publically funded pre-schools for 3 and 4 year olds. As more schools offer this, the long term outlook doesn't provide much room for growth.

 

[rightwinger]

At $11 K a year for childcare, it hardly seems worth it for many women to work

 

[chanel]

True rightwinger but for career minded women who prefer to work, they might just have to suck it up for a few years. Taking a time-out isn't always the best option. Also, many of these places market themselves as elite "learning centers" because there is a segment of the population that believe the path to Harvard starts with the right pre-school.

 

[WorldWatcher]

>

If find this thread to be an interesting correlation to threads discussing how women only make (when examining a national average***) of 77 cents on the dollar to what men make.

Part of this, IMHO, is that women are seen as the primary care providers - especially in the pre-school years (which is not a bad thing). As a result the often either leave the job market for a number of years or take less career building positions but one that provide more stability. My wife and I made decisions as a team and she sacrificed aspects of her career to give me the flexibility to focus on mine and to take some of the hard jobs that led to advancement. She makes less than I do because if that, but the "pay off" is still there - just in a different way.


>>>>

 

[Katzndogz]

It's another right for the poor.