$1,100 per month on average. 16 With significantly reduced child care costs, families were able to better afford basic needs such as groceries, bills, rent, housing, or moving expenses, or they were finally able to repair a broken car. “A large part of it for me is buying groceries and things that my kids need because I have other children that are still young… I think I paid $248 or like $250 [on child care per week]. It's went down by like 75%.”- Participant from parent focus group Some parents were able to go beyond basic needs and afford other goods and experiences to enrich their children and families’ lives. For example, parents described purchasing learning kits for their children. Others described paying for extracurricular activities such as Girl Scouts, team sports, and cheerleading. Some parents also donated to their child’s school, participated in picture day at school, or went on an occasional vacation. “I’m able to get little developmental play kits for [my son]. We’re able to live a happy life where I’m not constantly counting all my dollars and cents.” - Participant from parent focus group Many parents mentioned that the ACCM Pilot Program allowed their families to start saving and paying off debt. The ACCM Pilot Program helped to give parents a sense of financial security which meant being able to more effectively budget, save, and plan ahead. This gave parents hope for the future. Multiple parents even shared they were able to recently buy homes. These parents at least partially attributed this success to being able to save more, due to the ACCM Pilot Program.
“[The ACCM Pilot Program] definitely helped with family planning. I was able to conserve more money.” - Participant from parent focus group
“In terms of my family and being on the program, I was able to purchase a home… I think [the ACCM Pilot Program] has…assisted me with budgeting.” - Participant from parent focus group
Despite the financial benefits associated with the ACCM Pilot Program, some families still faced financial instability. Several parents who were participating in the ACCM Pilot Program discussed how they still struggled financially. Many of these parents described struggling to afford basic goods. A few parents even described struggling to afford to pay their child care copays. This was clearly frustrating for parents who were working full-time, but still had a challenging financial situation.
“Even with the pilot program, I wasn’t going to be able to afford the copay every week.” - Participant from parent focus group
16 This estimate is based on a 2022 projection of the median cost of center-based care for infants in 2024. Source: U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. (2024) Childcare Prices by Age of Children and Care Setting 2022 . https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/topics/childcare/price-by-age-care-setting-2022
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