Pennsylvania’s Child Care System: Access, Affordability, and Quality
high-quality child care and found 70% of working parents reported accessing child care to be a challenge. 28 Currently, only 21% of the 105,720 infants and toddlers eligible to participate in Child Care Works are served, leaving over 83,000 (79%) eligible infants and toddlers unserved. Further, looking at children under age 5, there are nearly 136,000 children unserved in Child Care Works, amounting to 75% of eligible children. 29 More than 35,500 children are sitting on child care waitlists, ultimately impacting their caregiver’s ability to work, limiting Pennsylvania businesses, and restricting the state’s overall economy. Child Care Affordability In addition to limited access to child care options, the affordability of child care plays a significant role in families accessing high-quality care for their children. This is especially true for families earning lower incomes or single-parent households. On average, child care for an infant comprises approximately 17.5% of the Pennsylvania median family income. 30
Employed) report, child care is the highest expense for households with children who can meet a bare-essential Survival Budget. Such a budget accounts for only the necessities needed to survive, including housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan, inclusive of taxes. 31 On average, the annual cost for a Pennsylvania family with an infant to obtain child care in a child care center is $12,152, only about 18% less than it costs to attend an in-state, 4-year university in the state. 32 The Child Care Works program seeks to provide low-income families with assistance to pay for care for their children and requires recipients to pay a co-payment for child care. The co-pay amount varies according to family size and income, can be as little as $5/week, and cannot exceed 7% of a family’s annual income. Eligible families must earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level to initially qualify but can now remain eligible up to 300% FPL before transitioning off the program. While the eligibility period was extended for families in the FY 2021-22 budget, initial eligibility to qualify for the program remains at 200% FPL. In FY 2021-22, families who were income-ineligible for child care subsidies, earning greater than 200% FPL but less than 300% FPL, totaled nearly 11,000 families statewide, creating a financial burden most families could not meet. 35
According to United Way of Pennsylvania’s most recent ALICE (Asset Limited, Income-Constrained,
The Average Annual Price of Child Care
Child Care Center— Infant
Child Care Center— Toddler
Child Care Center— 4-Year-Old
Family Child Care Home— Infant
Family Child Care Home— Toddler
$9,036 $7,894 Family Child Care Home— 4-Year-Old
National Average 33
$12,377
$9,715 $10,150
$9,974 $8,960
Pennsylvania Average 34 $12,152
$11,557
$8,499
August 2023
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