August/September ‘23: The Case for Universal Childcare
Written by: Anna Vogel (she/her) (MS-2)
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author. They do not represent the official views of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine or the University of Pittsburgh.
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The US Child Care Landscape:
Child care refers to early childhood education for children aged 0-5 that is provided outside the home, in both licensed home/family-based and center-based care. While some children under five are cared for at home by guardians, relatives, or a hired provider, that is not feasible for many families. In this piece, I will discuss the social, economic, and political forces that have shaped the “broken childcare market” which leaves many children behind, and advocate for universal childcare in the U.S.
The following three perspectives reveal the challenges these families face when trying to find child care:
Cost: Nationally, childcare costs range from $5,357 to $17,171 a year, depending largely on the county, the type of center, and the age of the child [1].
Quantity: 51% of Americans live in a “child care desert”, defined as a census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 and more than three times as many children as childcare seats [2].
Quality: Only 10% of US early childhood providers are considered high-quality [3]. Each state has its own QRIS (Quality rating and improvement system) to rate early childhood programs but participation is not mandatory and therefore low in many states.
For PA Families:
In the arduous task families undertake to search for and secure child care, barriers from each of the above perspectives of the childcare landscape are felt. For example, in Allegheny County child care can cost from $9,181/yr. for preschool home-based care to $13,772/yr. for infant center-based care [1]. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that families spend 7% or less of their total household income on childcare. For a median family in Allegheny County, however, this recommendation seems laughable. The median family income in Allegheny County is $81,730 meaning childcare, especially infant care, can cost up to 16.9% of the family income. These statistics are only per child, families that have multiple children face greater costs.
Additionally, while searching for care or stuck on waitlists, families may find that they are part of the 57% of the state population living in a childcare desert [2]. For example, in Allegheny County this past February (2023), 5,851 kids were on childcare waitlists [5]. Additionally, in terms of quality, while 95.5% of providers take part in PA’s QRIS system (Keystone STARS), only 26.9% are considered high quality (3 or 4 stars) [4].
For PA Childcare Providers:
Compared to other countries that highly subsidize childcare, childcare in the United States is almost entirely a private market. The childcare market in the U.S. is considered a “broken market” due to a free-market failure where both the consumer and providers can’t afford it.
One contributing issue is while 87% of early childhood educators have some form of higher education, they rank in the bottom 2% of earners nationally [6]. PA childcare providers make $25,844/year, or $12.43 an hour, often not a livable wage. Accompanying these low wages, child care is a highly regulated industry. Becoming licensed and participating in STARS is costly. While PA reimburses childcare providers for each star earned, the requirements can cost more than the benefits. These factors result in many childcare organizations surviving with a 1% profit margin [7]
The History of Universal Childcare:
Universal childcare refers to a federally funded program that guarantees free early childhood education for children aged 0-5 years old. Essentially, it extends guaranteed K-12 education to early life. While other countries (Sweden, Japan, Australia, France, Spain, Iceland, Denmark, and more recently Mexico and Canada) have implemented universal childcare systems, the US went down a different path that makes change difficult today.
Other than heavily subsidized childcare for 3 years during WW2, the closest the US came to universal childcare was the 1971 Comprehensive Child Development Act, which would have provided childcare for most American families. It was passed by both the House and the Senate. However, when it reached President Nixon, it was vetoed. He claimed it “would commit the vast moral authority of the National Government to the side of communal approaches to child-rearing over the family-centered approach.” [8]. Most recently, Biden’s Build Back Better plan proposed universal Pre-K but this was ultimately not included in the final plan [9]. The US has failed to remedy the fragmented childcare system with the status quo of income-based programs and childcare tax breaks which fail to serve most American families.
Current Efforts:
The responsibility for providing education for children under 5 has fallen to the states. Pre-K (education for 3-4-year-olds) for children at risk of not reaching kindergarten readiness has been prioritized. Kindergarten readiness looks at multiple factors (language, math, social/emotional, and psychomotor skills) that have been shown to determine success in the rest of a child’s schooling. Like 88% of states, PA has provided a Pre-K system since 2007, called Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts. It is available to families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level, with priority given to children with other risk factors [10]. Of note, the most recent PA state budget (2023-2024) failed to increase funding for the program [11].
While these types of state Pre-K programs- along with Early Head Start and Head Start programs- are an attempt, they do not come close to meeting the needs for childcare. Firstly, children aged 0-3/4 are often not included, despite requiring the costliest care for families. Secondly, the majority of families that desperately need support don’t fulfill the income requirements and are therefore excluded from these programs.
Why Does This Matter?
For the Child
The ages of 0-5 are a critical period for a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Positive or negative, this development can have lifelong effects. This isn’t new news. The Abecedarian Project that ran from 1972 to 1985 in North Carolina showed the impact of quality child care. The project provided high-quality education for 0-5-year-old children from low-income families who would not have been able to receive quality early childhood education otherwise. Observing these students into adulthood, they had higher IQs, learned faster, got better jobs, and demonstrated a unique passion for learning compared to their peers [12].
Quality child care, especially for preschool-aged children (3-4), can dictate kindergarten readiness (as defined earlier). Children from low-income families have been shown to be at greater risk of not reaching kindergarten readiness and subsequent school failure later [10].
For the Family, the Economy, and Providers
The economic burden of childcare on families can be immense, as highlighted earlier. It goes without saying that universal childcare would significantly alleviate these stressors and in turn, support economic growth. Focusing on four areas, universal childcare would
1. Increase families’ spending power in their communities
2. Reduce worker turnover, especially in small businesses
3. Increase the labor force, especially mothers of young children and
4. Improve parent mental health. [13].
Part of the lack of childcare availability is due to early childhood educators, who often make less than a livable wage, not being able to afford to keep their programs open. Universal childcare would finally value providers at the level they deserve and ensure that childcare facilities can stay open.
Conclusions
Comprehensive and unified universal childcare funded at the federal level is the ideal and necessary solution for the childcare crisis in our country. The former US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, once said “We value our children less than other nations do, I don’t have a…softer or kinder way to say that”. [14]. I am hopeful and will continue to advocate for a collective effort to value our youngest citizens through universal childcare policies, and I hope you will join me.
Sources:
[1] Childcare Prices by Age of Children and Care Setting. (n.d.). DOL. Retrieved September 23, 2023, from http://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/topics/childcare/price-by-age-care-setting
[2] Do you live in a Child Care Desert? (2020). Do You Live in a Child Care Desert? https://childcaredeserts.org/
[3]QRIS 101: Fact Sheet. (2017, May 11). Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/qris-101-fact-sheet/
[4] Regulated Child Care—Centers by Keystone STARS participation level | KIDS COUNT Data Center. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2023, from https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/5595-regulated-child-care--centers-by-keystone-stars-participation-level
[5] Cajka, I. (2023, July 3). All I want for next Mother’s Day is a childcare revolution. PublicSource. http://www.publicsource.org/childcare-child-care-crisis-pittsburgh-campaign-costs-universal/
[6] Suddath, C. (2021, November 18). How Child Care Became the Most Broken Business in America. Bloomberg.Com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-11-18/biden-s-build-back-better-wants-to-save-america-s-child-care-business
[7] Furman, J., Kearney, M. S., & Powell, W. (2021). The Role of Childcare Challenges in the US Jobs Market Recovery During the COVID-19 Pandemic (w28934; p. w28934). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w28934
[8] Times, J. R. S. to T. N. Y. (1971, December 10). PRESIDENT VETOES CHILD CARE PLAN AS IRRESPONSIBLE. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/10/archives/president-vetoes-child-care-plan-as-irresponsible-he-terms-bill.html
[9] Build Back Better Framework. (2021, October 28). The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/28/build-back-better-framework/
[10] Peisner-Feinberg, E. (2020). Kindergarten Impacts of the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Program (p. 41). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611002.pdf
[11]Caruso, S. (2023, August 3). PA budget impasse 2023 is nearly over. Spotlight PA. https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2023/08/pennsylvania-budget-legislature-josh-shapiro-kim-ward-education-voucher-funding/
[12] Ramey, C. T., & Campbell, F. A. (1984). Preventive education for high-risk children: Cognitive consequences of the Carolina Abecedarian Project. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88(5), 515–523.
[13] Gibbs, H. (2022, May 24). 4 Reasons the U.S. Economy Needs Comprehensive Child Care. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/4-reasons-the-u-s-economy-needs-comprehensive-child-care/
[14] Mongeau, L. (2016, July 12). How the U.S. Is Failing Its Youngest Students. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/why-does-america-invest-so-little-in-its-children/490790/