PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin’s child care crisis is worsening, according to survey results released Monday by Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.
“Working parents across our state depend on having high-quality, affordable child care so they can get to work and feed their families, but with providers closing their doors and reducing slots due to staffing, affordable child care is becoming harder and harder to find,” said Gov. Evers in a news release. “This is not sustainable. If we want to address our state’s generational workforce challenges, we must make sure child care centers have the resources they need to keep their doors open, pay their staff fairly, and serve as many kids as possible. It’s as simple as that.”
Highlights of the survey results are as follows:
Classrooms close as waitlists grow
The survey reports almost 60% of providers across Wisconsin have unutilized capacity — for example, closed classrooms — mainly due to staff shortages.
With such a lack of workers, providers are forced to close more classrooms and serve fewer kids, all while watching their waitlists grow, according to the survey.
Providers say a total of 48,000 kids are on waitlists in Wisconsin, and if they were able to operate at full capacity, they could serve up to 33,000 more kids.
‘Unlivable’ wages
Wisconsin child care centers are only able to pay lead teachers an average of $13.55 per hour — less than half of the average hourly wage of $28.34 for Wisconsin workers, the survey says.
Officials attribute these shortages to “unlivable wages” combined with little-to-no benefits.
This is causing qualified early care and education professionals to leave the field, or choose not to enter the field in the first place, according to the survey.
Raising costs
Providers struggle to stay afloat financially, while increasing fees makes it even more difficult for families to afford child care.
A recent report shows the cost of child care for two young children in Wisconsin is now higher than the average rent or mortgage. It also surpasses the annual cost of tuition to send two students to UW-Madison.
Price statistics, according to the new survey, include:
- In 2021, the average cost for newborn care in Wisconsin was between $10,400 and $13,572 each year.
- Childcare costs can consume up to 36% of a family’s household income for parents under the age of 25 at the median income, and 18% for parents between 25 and 44 at the median income.
- For a typical family with parents under 25, child care costs can reach as high as 70% of the household’s income for two children in care.
Unlike college, there are no loans for child care, and services are paid for in cash, up-front at a time when families are just starting out. However, the price families pay doesn’t come close to the average true cost of $33,715 per year to care for an infant, which is what providers would need to pay their staff fairly and cover all expenses of running their business.
What to do
Evers and his administration are calling for a long-term investment in Child Care Counts, a federal COVID-19 pandemic-era program. Last October, Evers directed $170 million in emergency funding toward the child care industry to extend Child Care Counts through June 2025.
According to a news release from Evers’ administration, the program has delivered more than $750 million in upstream support to help over 5,300 child care providers keep their doors open, increase wages, provide benefits and expand access.
Through the budget process, Republicans have rejected Evers’ attempts to keep Child Care Counts going. The GOP has offered separate legislation, such as an amendment that would cut income taxes by $2 billion and expand a tax credit parents can use for child care costs.
For more information and resources on child care in Wisconsin, click here.
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