How the True Cost of Childcare Burdens Families, Providers and the Economy

KQED's Forum

Parents of young kids in California often find that childcare is not only expensive, but also hard to secure and even more so for low-income families. The cost of childcare eats up between 8 and 19 percent of family household income, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. While high costs and lack of availability have been problems for decades, the pandemic made it worse. Numerous childcare centers across California closed permanently in the past few years, even though demand has remained constant. We’ll talk about why childcare is so expensive and efforts at the state level to bring down the costs for families and improve working conditions for providers.

Guests:

Daisy Nguyen, early childhood education and care reporter, KQED

Deo Agustin, founder and owner, Mind Builder Center - a licensed in-home childcare center in San Jose

Anna Powell , senior research and policy associate, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California, Berkeley

Monique Limón, Senator, California State Senate - She represents the 19th Senate district that includes the Santa Barbara County and half of Ventura County