Cost of Child Care

Lack of affordable childcare puts a strain on Oklahoma’s families, economy, and workforce. Unsurprisingly, the majority of this burden most often falls on women and mothers. Despite cultural shifts over the past several decades leading to more families splitting household responsibilities, many women remain primary caregivers in the home.

Costs of childcare have risen to staggering levels in recent years, swallowing up to 12.1 of a family’s yearly median income to pay for a single child’s care. These prices have led many families to reevaluate work schedules, expenses, and division of household responsibilities to alleviate stress. Yet, responsibilities often fall unequally onto the mother or female partner. Up to 60% of mothers are now the sole or co-breadwinners of their household, yet they spend roughly two more hours per week on caregiving compared to their husbands, and 2.5 hours more on housework. 

Women disproportionately cite childcare as a reason for unemployment or barrier to returning to work. While having children brings joy and fulfillment to many women’s lives, they often have to pay the literal and figurative price to balance motherhood with career goals. This phenomenon is known as the “motherhood penalty” and often results in women experiencing promotion delays and lower rates of career advancement than their male counterparts (see Gender Pay Gap).

Incompatibility between career and family life, along with the financial burden of childcare costs, leads to a surplus of negative health outcomes including feelings of guilt, anxiety, and diminished well-being. Providing both workforce flexibility and mental health support to Oklahoma moms is critical to improving economic and health outcomes in our state.

Families aren’t the only ones who suffer from the consequences of unaffordable child care. Businesses may be unable to fully staff their operations and experience higher employee turnover rates if employees are forced to take excessive time off of work to care for their kids. One recent study found that gaps in childcare could cost the nation’s economy as much as $392 billion over the next 10 years in lost productivity, work shortages, and decreased income or revenue.

Despite the importance of high-quality care, there’s been a persistent shortage in the number of childcare facilities and workers, as well as funding to support them. 55% of our state lives in a “childcare desert” – areas where there aren’t enough licensed childcare experts to meet the needs of working families.

Studies have shown that reductions in childcare costs through subsidies, public programs, or tax credits, increase maternal labor force participation. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that if funds for the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) – which provides childcare for low-income families – tripled, it would add 652,000 newly-employed women in the workforce. To put those numbers into perspective, that’s almost the whole population of Tulsa County.

Luckily, recent initiatives have strengthened the childcare workforce in Oklahoma, benefiting working families in the state. The Oklahoma Strong Start Program provides free child care benefits to eligible employees working in childcare facilities, giving back to those who give their time taking care of Oklahoma’s little ones.