‘It costs more than our mortgage.’ Metro-east families struggle to secure child care
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Skyrocketing child care costs in Illinois
The average Illinois family pays more than $13,000 annually to send their infant to a day care center. For many, child care has become hard to find and financially unobtainable.
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Leslie Barton and Tony Browning put themselves on a day care waitlist before Barton was three months pregnant. It was more than a year later when they secured care in Edwardsville, and even then it was part time and cost more than their monthly mortgage payment.
Their story is one with which many families in the metro-east area are familiar as the average Illinois family pays $13,762 for center-based care per infant.
June 9, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the subsidy for child care would be expanded to cover thousands more families, with the state investing $175 million more for child care and early childhood education, Capitol News Illinois reported.
But will families get the relief they need?
The U.S. average for care for children of all ages is $9,200 to $9,600 per year per child, according to Child Care Aware. The nonprofit organization provides a caveat for this number, writing that child care costs vary greatly based on location.
Affordability of child care is affected by a number of factors, including race and ethnicity, family size, whether the child is enrolled in a center or a family program, marital status of parents, birth country of parents and age of the child or children. Child Care Aware provides data sets aiming to estimate the impact of these factors on affordability.
Barton said she could not imagine trying to find options for her child if her family made minimum wage, worked jobs that could not be done remotely or did not have family members to help out.
“I am very lucky to have a mom who’s retired who can help us,” Barton said.
The couple does receive a child tax credit of $3,600, which is available to families making less than $150,000 annually. Qualifying families receive $3,000 for each child older than 6 and $3,600 for each child under the age of 6.
The average monthly price of full-time child care per child is $808 in St. Clair County, or 17% of the median income for a family with a child under 6 years old. St. Clair County and Illinois both have higher average child care costs than the U.S. as a whole.
Why are waitlists so long? Why does day care cost so much?
Barton and Browning waited more than a year to get their daughter, Margaux, into a day care facility. They shared her nursery as an office while they waited on five lists.
As schools let out for the summer, many parents of elementary-aged children may be looking for day care options. It could be tough to find spots, although the search is typically easier for those whose children have aged out of the infant and toddler stages.
Licensing regulations, a declining workforce, low wages and COVID-19 regulations have all contributed to the lack of available child care options, especially impacting care for the youngest children.
Shauna Ejeh, senior vice president of Illinois Action for Children, said one reason infant care is difficult to find is facilities actually lose money on their infant programs, so they don’t offer many spots.
“To provide quality infant care probably costs between $20,000 to $30,000 a year. First of all, parents can’t afford that, right?” Ejeh said.
In Cook County, Ejeh said parents pay college tuition rates for child care, from $16,000 to $20,000 per year, if they can even find an infant slot. But even those high rates would not cover Ejeh’s cost estimation for quality infant care.
Because day care facilities typically lose money on infant programs, Ejeh said there are typically only one or two infant classes (with about eight to 12 children in each) at any given center.
Another issue is staffing. Teaching positions that pay more than infant care are experiencing mass shortages, and day care staffing has also been affected by the Great Resignation.
“We have the challenge where salaries are not on parity with other levels of education, but particularly K through 12,” Ejeh said. “We have traditionally underspent on our early care and education system, and so a lot of folks working in classrooms are not earning a living wage.”
Janice Moenster, director of early childhood services for the southern region of Children’s Home & Aid, said on average, a child care teacher may earn from $13 to $17 per hour.
“It’s difficult, because they could go to other companies and have a higher wage or a very similar wage and not as many stressors in their life,” Moenster said.
Ejeh said the most important thing that can be done for the child care problem in the U.S. is for federal investments to increase. Ejeh said the U.S. currently spends $2 billion per year on early education and child care, and the number should be closer to $14 billion.
How can you find somewhere for your child to go?
Children’s Home & Aid Child Care Resource & Referral is an information service providing families with consumer education and referral options based on their personal needs.
Call 800-467-9200 to speak with a professional about finding a child care facility with openings or waitlists within your price range. The referral system takes into consideration the type of care a parent is interested in, siblings, disabilities the child may have and whether the family is experiencing homelessness.
“The Child Care Resource & Referral was designed to really address quality, accessibility and affordability. Those are the three primary strategies that we employ within our program,” Moenster said.
It is the family’s decision whether they decide to pursue any of the referred programs, but the professionals staffing the resource system provide a live search aimed at giving the family options on their first call.
“We do know that (for) infant/toddler care, almost every program has a waitlist,” Moenster said. “Infant/toddler slots for children were minimal to begin with, and when COVID happened, programs had to cut back on the number of children in care, for safety reasons.”
An alternative parents can consider is family based care. Family programs can still be licensed and may have attachment advantages, Ejeh said.
“Attachment to a primary caregiver, even outside of the home, really aids and supports that child’s development,” Ejeh said.
In a child care center, children are sometimes moved from classroom to classroom without having the same teacher, and Ejeh said the stability made possible by home-based providers is a good thing.
One way to find a facility is through ExceleRate Illinois, which provides program rankings.
The Child Care Assistance Program helps families find affordable child care options and assists families in determining applicable relief programs.
Head Start and “Preschool for All” are two other Illinois programs for receiving financial support for day care. The Child Tax Credit is also available.
What are my child care options in Belleville?
Toddle Town, Inc.
Toddle Town, Toddler House and Learning Journey operate as three locations of Toddle Town Inc. According to Kimberly Murphy, director of Learning Journey, the weekly pricing for all three locations is:
6 weeks to 24 months of age: $252
2 year olds: $196
Part-time 2 year olds: $139
Preschool (3, 4 and 5 year olds): $176
Part-time preschool: $132
Registration fees are $45 for one child or $55 for a family with multiple enrolled children. Toddle Town is located at 208 S. Jackson St., Toddler House is at 208 E. Lincoln St. and Learning Journey is at 225 S High St. The company advertises that it offers family discounts and holds a National Early Childhood accreditation.
There are currently waitlists for Toddle Town Inc. facilities. It could take six months to get into the facility for infants, or three to four months for older children, according to Beth Maloney, director of Toddle Town.
St. Henry’s Creative Learning Center
St. Henry’s is a Christian-based child care center located at 5303 W. Main St. According to assistant director Nicole Hettenhausen, its weekly pricing is:
Full-time (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.):
Five days: $170
Four days: $154.50
Three days: $139
Two days: $126
Morning sessions (7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.):
Five days: $120
Four days: $114.50
Three days: $109
Two days: $106
There is an additional weekly fee of $25 for children who are not potty-trained. The center serves children from 15 months to 12 years old.
Tuition discounts are available for full-time families. For one to two children, there is a $15 discount, and for two or more children, there is a $45 discount.
Registration fees are $75 for one child or $100 for a family. Parents or guardians of children who are enrolled full time must purchase naptime equipment for $40 that the family may keep.
Child care in St. Louis
In the city of St. Louis, Child Care Aware reports the average weekly cost of full-time care per child is $270 for infants up to 12 months old, $263 for children 13 to 24 months old, $236 for children 25 to 36 months, $211 for preschoolers (37 months to 5 years old) and $95 for kindergarten and school-age children. Using these numbers, the average price of child care for four weeks is $860 in St. Louis. This number averages the cost of care for all of the above age categories.
Here are some St. Louis-based facilities and their pricing:
Step Ahead Child Care Academy
The facility is located at 4501 Hampton Ave. in St. Louis. Its weekly rates are:
Children 6 weeks to 24 months: $385 (full-time only)
Children 24 to 36 months: $295 for full-time care. Depending on scheduling, part-time options for this age range may be available.
Children 24 to 36 months part time: $270 for four days, $212 for three days and $142 for two days
Children 3 to 6 years old: $260 per week, if potty-trained.
Children 3 to 6 years old part time: $235 for four days, $200 for three days or $130 for two days.
There is a $250 registration fee per family. Step Ahead Child Care Academy is family owned and advertises the family has more than 30 years of care-giving experience.
The Berry Patch Professional Child Care Center
The Berry Patch is located at 670 S. Laclede Station Road in St. Louis and provides care for children up to 5 years old. Here is its pricing:
Under 24 months: Five full days, $372 per week. Part time is not offered for this age.
2 year olds:
Five full days: $293 per week
Four full days: $265
Three full days: $215
Five half days $215
3 to 5 year olds:
Five full days: $260
Four full days: $239
Three full days: $202
Five half days $202
Families with more than one child enrolled receive a 10% discount on their oldest child’s tuition.
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘It costs more than our mortgage.’ Metro-east families struggle to secure child care."
