Working Families
Access to affordable, reliable, and high-quality early learning and child care opportunities provides working families with better job stability and overall economic security.
Here are five things to know about child care and working families.
- Child care prices are untenable across all program types, age groups, and geographic locations. In 2021, the cost of infant care ranged from 24.6% to 75.1% of income for single-parent households.
- Child care helps parents return to or stay at work, which can generate an additional $94,000 in lifetime earnings for mothers.
- Almost half of parents are absent from work at least once every six months due to child care issues.
- 74% of mothers and 66% of fathers have left work early, arrived late, or been absent because child care fell through at the last minute.
- In a recent poll, 59% of part-time or non-working parents say they would go back to work full-time if their child had access to quality child care at a reasonable cost.
Learn more:
Posts
State Of Play: Federal Child Care Solutions Gain Steam Going Into The August Recess
June and July brought a lot of Congressional momentum, with multiple pieces of proposed legislation that would bring better support to more working families and young children who need quality, …
Spotlight On: Child Care and the 2024 Olympics
There have been many memorable moments from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Steve, the Pommel Horse guy. Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav bringing the fun as Ambassadors. Simone Biles, …
The First Five Things to Know About: The Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization Act of 2024
Working families across the country rely on quality child care, but for too many families, child care remains hard to find and even harder to afford. The federal Child Care …
STATEMENT: First Five Years Fund In Support of the Newly Introduced Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization Act of 2024
Washington – Today, Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG), the primary federal child care program that helps working families …
The First Five Things to Know About: The Kaine-Britt Bipartisan Child Care Plan
Millions of working families with young children rely on quality child care, but the eye-watering cost and limited supply means many can’t find or afford it. Without it, many parents …
Essential Excerpts: Child Care Quotes From The Hill
As we monitored hearings on Capitol Hill this week, it was striking to see how many of them featured the issue of child care. From the House Appropriations Committee to …
Top Themes from the National Child Care Innovation Summit
“I’m here because child care is not only a social issue or a women’s issue. It is also an economic issue. In fact, I’d argue it’s one of the most …
Survey Sheds Light on What Parents and Child Care Providers Want Elected Officials to Know
The RAPID Survey Project recently released the RAPID 4th Anniversary Special Report: What parents of young children and child care providers want elected officials to know. RAPID is a national …
The First Five Questions For: Caitlin Codella and Liat Krawczyk
In this month’s FFYF’s First Five Questions series – which brings together interesting leaders, experts, and voices together to talk about child care challenges and solutions – Executive Director Sarah …
New Report Finds Inequities in Early Child Care and Education Access Among Black Children and Families
Quality child care and early education enhances children’s growth, learning, and development while simultaneously supporting working families. However, the rising cost of child care forces many families to depend on …
2024 CCDBG State Fact Sheets
First Five Years Fund released a new collection of fact sheets from all 50 states detailing how the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) helps families and kids in …
How we’re celebrating Mother’s Day and Provider Appreciation Day
This weekend is both Mother’s Day AND Provider Appreciation Day so now is the time to recognize the important work of both moms and the early educators and providers they …
