Parents , providers , and employers have long known that high-quality child care is essential . During the COVID- 19 pandemic and in these early stages of recovery , it is increasingly apparent that child care isn ’ t only essential for parents , providers and employers — it is essential for our entire state . Since 2018 , The Child Care Collaborative Task Force has examined the child care system in Washington and advocated for policy changes to make child care more accessible and more affordable for families and more sustainable for providers . We recognize that child care is an essential industry that supports other sectors to keep our society and economy functioning .
The cost of quality care estimation model , developed at the request of the Washington State Legislature , makes it possible for policymakers and administrators to better understand and address significant gaps in public funding for child care . The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that providers and parents cannot continue bearing the burden of a failed market system alone . Especially in the absence of federal solutions , the stakes for inaction here in Washington are too high .
These recommendations build on the critical foundation of the
Fair Start for Kids Act ( FSKA ), passed in May 2021 , which improves access and affordability for working families through the Working Connections Child Care ( WCCC ) subsidy program . However , even with passage of FSKA , most Washington parents remain solely responsible for child care expenses . Only 13 % of eligible children from birth through age five currently receive assistance through the subsidy program in Washington .
33 The task force identified a gap in policy and budget solutions that address public and private licensed child care programs and discussed the importance of stabilizing both markets to ensure access for families .
The urgency to act begins with the health and well-being of children and working families , but it does not stop there . Child care is an essential industry that supports other sectors and keeps our economy functioning . Washington ’ s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is jeopardized by the child care workforce shortage .
Even without access to affordable health care coverage , early vaccinations and personal protective equipment , the child care workforce showed up for families and employers of essential workers during the COVID-19 crisis . When school buildings closed , child care programs remained open and even pushed the limits of their budgets to make space for additional children . Parents are stretched thin , too . The cost of full-time child care for an infant and a child in preschool can equal up to 35 % of a two-parent family ’ s income and up to 150 % of a single-parent ’ s income – well beyond the federal standard for affordability of 7 % of income . 34
The task force recommends adoption of a cost of quality child care estimation model that incorporates living wages , benefits , and program enhancements that support quality . Without intervention , the child care industry will continue to fall short of meeting the demand for affordable quality care and early childhood education . It is a precarious and unstable situation that needs and deserves to be addressed — for the sake of children and families and the workforce that cares for them .
33
2021 .
34 Ibid .
2022 COST OF QUALITY CHILD CARE LEGISLATIVE REPORT 26