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
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program Overview
TANF provides grants to states to help design and operate programs that support low-income families, including through increased access to child care and early education opportunities, which helps parents to …
MIECHV: Overview
The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program provides federal funds to states, territories, and tribal entities for voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services.
CCDBG: Overview
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act provides federal funding to states for child care subsidies for low-income families with children under age 13.
White House Highlights Wide Range of Approaches for Child Care Support
On the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers (Care EO), the White House brought together governors, advocates, and business leaders …
FFYF Statement on White House’s “Making Care Work”
On Wednesday, April 17, the White House brought together governors, advocates, and business leaders to underscore the important role child care plays not only in supporting working families but in …
The Fundamental Role of Child Care in Supporting Women
Last month, the Center for American Progress (CAP) published a new report, “Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy.” Aligning with Women’s History Month, this “playbook” provides a …
FFYF Joins White House, SBA for Child Care Roundtable
This week, the White House and Small Business Administration (SBA) announced new actions to support small businesses that offer child care for working families. FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling joined …
IN CONTEXT: Child Care Costs Surpass Other Major Family Expenses
We’ve all heard that families with young children in the United States today are struggling to afford child care. Now we know just how tough it really is. According to …
Bipartisan Child Care Town Hall with Representatives Bonamici and Hinson
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The First Five Years Fund (FFYF) hosted Congresswomen Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Ashley Hinson (R-IA) for a town hall to discuss the importance of child care in their …
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: A Deep Dive Into Dual Language Learners
As FFYF commemorates Hispanic Heritage Month, we take a moment to reflect on the remarkable contributions of Latinx communities across the United States. In recognizing and celebrating our nation’s Latinx …
New Report Highlights Barriers to Child Care Assistance for Latinx Families
Brief highlights child care subsidy staff perspectives on policy implementation practices and effective outreach with latinx families in California. Latinx* children make up approximately 35% of those eligible for subsidized …
ZERO TO THREE Releases State of Babies 2023 Yearbook
ZERO TO THREE recently released the State of Babies Yearbook: 2023, an in-depth report on how state and federal policies have impacted the lives of families and their young babies. …
