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Child care is a challenge for the many parents with unpredictable work hours

Jun 12, 2023
Nearly a third of parents don’t know their schedule more than two weeks in advance, and more than 25% need child care outside of traditional work hours.
More than a quarter of parents need care outside of traditional working hours, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. But that can be difficult to find.
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Why is child care so expensive in the United States?

Apr 29, 2021
It's labor intensive, and caregiver wages are most of the cost. Still, workers, mostly women of color, make "near-poverty wages."
Regulations vary by state, but child care centers usually need at least one caregiver for every four infants. That ratio might be 1 to 6 for older toddlers.
MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images

How rising child care costs affect the workers taking care of your kids

Aug 11, 2016
Politicians are touting reform to help parents pay for increasing child care costs. Childcare workers and early educators say they need those reforms as well.
Children play at a daycare facility in Germany. 
JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images