Wading through the paperwork involved in getting government help to pay for child care can be overwhelming to already overworked parents. A new report by the Center for American Progress looks at how difficult it can be for low-income families to navigate an underfunded child-care support system.
As child-care costs keep rising, applying for and finding assistance can become a full-time job of its own, said Judith Warner, a senior fellow for the center who authored the study, "Jumping Through Hoops and Set Up to Fail." "It's the sort of psychological, emotional side of things that really hit me in a very, very gut way," she said. "Imagine doing all of the things you already do, while in addition you have to file a degree of paperwork that goes far beyond all those medical forms and permission forms you normally file just for school."
According to Child Care Aware of America, day care costs nearly $6,000 a year for infants in Tennessee and a little less for pre-schoolers. While that figure is less than many other parts of the country, Warner said that when budgets are tight, families are forced to choose cost over quality in child care. Warner said parents who qualify for assistance with child-care expenses often aren't given a lot of help to navigate the system. "You're dependent on people who may or may not lose your paperwork, and may or may not want to help you," she said, "and if things go wrong, your child loses a stable, good place in child care that brings them so many advantages."
The Center for American Progress report made some recommendations - including less paperwork for parents and more child-care funding. Last fall, the group also proposed a "High-Quality Child Care Tax Credit," worth up to $14,000 per child, based on family income. The money would be paid directly to a child-care provider chosen by the parents.
The report is online at americanprogress.org.
