Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Average cost of child care in CT as much as in-state tuition

  • Early Childhood Education
  • by Ana Radelat
  • September 30, 2016
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

School for young child in West Hartford

CtMirror.org

School for Young Children in at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford

Washington — Child care in Connecticut is of good quality and widely available, but it can easily cost more than in-state college tuition.

That’s what the “Care Index,” a report released this week by the Washington, D.C., think tank New America, determined about the state’s day care system.

The report said the average cost of in-home, or “nanny care” in Connecticut was $31,162 a year and the average cost of  a day care center was $11,456 per child per year. The average cost of childcare in Connecticut was determined to be $19,521, or 28 percent of the median household income.

Nationally, the cost for care at a day care center was determined to be $9,589 per child.

The report was based on government data and other sources, including Care.com, a job-matching website for in-home caregivers.

While child care is costly in Connecticut, the state ranked highest of all in the “care index” which examined quality and availability of child care –as well as cost – in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Connecticut received an overall rating of 123 out of a possible 125.

Yet Connecticut is among 33 states where the average cost of day care is higher than in-state tuition.

Brigid Schulte, the lead author of the study, said Connecticut ranked high in quality of childcare because 46 percent of its centers were accredited, the highest percentage in the nation. In contrast, only 1 percent of the day care centers in South Dakota were accredited.

Schulte cautioned that the quality of care a child receives could be better judged by observing the care between a caregiver and a child, which was unfeasible, “so we used accreditation data as a proxy.”

She said parents in Connecticut also have easy access to care, compared to other states.

“The greatest availability (of care) is in the Northeast, the worst is in rural states in the West,” she said.

Schulte’s report said that, despite the high cost of care, day-care workers are paid poverty wages and turnover is high.

It says the nation’s parents rely on a “patchwork” system to provide care for more than 12 million American children younger than 5.

Merrill Gay, executive director of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, a coalition of  child welfare groups in the state, said the report “highlighted the fact that child care is still very expensive for families with young children.”

He said part of the reason the cost is so high is that most Connecticut preschoolers are not attending subsidized child care centers.

“When you look at things at 10,000 feet, it looks real good,” Gay said of the state’s early childcare system. “But we also have great income disparity.”

Gay said Connecticut’s high cost of housing means many families of modest incomes pay up to 50 percent of their income to put a roof over their heads, leaving little for other expenses if they also have to pay for child care.

The largest subsidized child care program in the state is Care4Kids, a joint federal-state initiative. Eligibility requirements for the program were tightened this summer.

The state said a federal effort to improve the program also made it more expensive and forced Connecticut to tighten requirements.

Despite the challenges parents face in finding good, affordable day care, Schulte is optimistic the issue will rise to the top of the nation’s policy discussions.

“It’s the very first time childcare has made it into a presidential election,” she said.

Both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump unveiled proposals to reform the system.

Trump’s plan would allow parents to deduct the cost of day care from their income taxes, but that deduction would be capped at the amount of the average cost of care in their state.

Clinton has said she would limit the cost of day care to no more than 10 percent of a household’s income, but hasn’t said how she would pay for the program.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ana Radelat Ana has written about politics and policy in Washington, D.C.. for Gannett, Thompson Reuters and UPI. She was a special correspondent for the Miami Herald, and a regular contributor to The New York TImes, Advertising Age and several other publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism, for CNN and several local NPR stations. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Will getting teachers vaccinated get students back in school full time? It might not be that easy
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, Kasturi Pananjady and Adria Watson

Districts will have to convince parents and students that in-person learning is safe and that students won't bring COVID-19 home.

Senate confirms Miguel Cardona as U.S. Secretary of Education
by Adria Watson

Cardona was the youngest principal in the state of Connecticut.

Report: Twice as many CT high schoolers are in danger of being held back
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Research released Monday confirms what many parents and educators already suspected — more students than ever are falling behind during the pandemic, a problem especially present among those learning entirely from home in some of the state’s larger districts. The RISE Network tracked about 12,000 students in nine high schools in historically struggling districts to […]

State’s largest teachers’ union urges educators be prioritized in vaccine rollout
by Adria Watson

Educators said teachers should be able to receive the vaccine immediately when the next phase begins.

Capitol cop: ‘I don’t trust the people above me’
by Joaquin Sapien and Joshua Kaplan | ProPublica

How failures of leadership put Capitol cops at risk; allowed rioters to get dangerously close to members of Congress.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Fitness is part of Connecticut’s COVID solution
by David Humphrey

Based on what we now know about infection rates and transmission, it is more apparent than ever before that gyms, fitness centers, and the physical and mental health benefits of exercise are essential to help our state get through the months ahead.

Opinion Connecticut can’t afford state government-run health insurance
by Mike Licamele

As much as I support strengthening and improving healthcare, I do not believe SB 842 is the way to do that. Instead of trying to force Connecticut residents into a new, government-controlled healthcare system, lawmakers should focus on improving our existing one by building on what’s working and continuing to address lowering costs, not raising taxes

Opinion Disabled, marginalized, stalled and walled
by Doris Maldonado

As a bilingual health information specialist for PATH P2P Family Voices CT and National Family Voices Cultural Responsiveness Telehealth Team, I offer more than professional expertise as well as despair for the marginalized within marginalized communities. I am a Latina with disabilities, adoptive mother of 17-year-old twins with special needs and a thriving toddler.

Opinion The marijuana legalization debate must be based on facts
by Will Jones III

In response to my earlier piece on why Connecticut lawmakers should reject marijuana commercialization,  Brendan Ruberry wrote a rebuttal that, on its face seems scathing, but to be clear, the attempted rebuttal falls flat and well off the mark.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO