child care in cook county - Illinois Action for Children

More documents

Recommendations

Info

IntroductionGABRIELLE AND SHAWN HARRISAND THEIR 10-MONTH AND21-MONTH OLD DAUGHTERSCANDACE THOMAS AND HER2-YEAR-OLD, 4-YEAR-OLD,AND 8-YEAR-OLDALBERTA REYES AND HERTHREE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTERGabrielle and Shawn together earned$89,400 in 2009, more than thetypical family in Cook County, and toomuch to be eligible for the Illinois ChildCare Assistance Program (CCAP).The child care center they would liketo use would charge them $1,834per month for an infant and a toddler,or $22,000 annually, although the childcare tax credit would reduce that tojust $20,800—23 percent of theirincome. Since paying this amountwould stretch their budget, they mustdecide whether to settle for child caresomewhere other than the center, orwhether Gabrielle should work a longweekend shift of three overnights ata hospital so she can be home withher children during most weekdayswhile Shawn works. Her sister-in-lawhas offered to help with the childrenwhen needed and has asked if they,in turn, could help care for her childrenwhen she works.Candace’s three children are in carewith an inexpensive licensed familychild care provider. Candace works fora large retailer that recently gave hera promotion and sizeable raise. Thislifted her income to an annual salaryof $44,800, making her no longereligible for CCAP. Candace is nowstruggling to afford her child care butis reluctant to move her children toan even less expensive provider sinceshe and her children are very happywith their current caregiver. She hopesfor another promotion in a few monthsto help her with her higher child careexpenses. If that doesn’t happen,she is considering asking her employerto return her to her old position so shecan reapply for Child Care Assistance.Alberta is a single mother who worksat a distribution center four nightsper week, although sometimes she issent home when business is slow.She earns $7.85 per hour andreceives $200 each month in childsupport, giving her a total income of$16,138 in 2009. Alberta is in needof overnight child care between 6 p.m.and 6 a.m. Fortunately, her mother isavailable to watch her daughter in themorning so she can sleep.These examples do not represent actual families but composites of typical incomes and work schedules for families in Cook County.5
I. Family Dilemma:Child Care AffordabilityA.THE COST OF CHILD CAREEach year, the Illinois Action for Chil -dren Resource and Referral Programasks providers to report the ratesthey charge parents. Tables I-1 andI-2 present the average market ratesthat 729 child care centers and2,503 homes respectively charge inthe six regions of Cook County.Centers average between $138 and$280 each week to care for childrenunder age six, while home providerscharge an average of $119 to $202weekly, depending upon age andregion. The last rows of both tablesshow the rates that the Illinois ChildCare Assistance Program (CCAP)reimbursed Cook County providersin 2009. We will discuss these ratesfurther in Section I-D.Tables I-1 and I-2 indicate sharpdif ferences in child care ratesrelative to the region in which thecare occurs and the age of thechild. In child care, it is well-knownthat the younger the children, themore expensive it is to provide theircare, largely due to the additionalcare and supervision that youngchildren need.As in previous years, the Southand Southwestern regions of bothChicago and suburban CookCounty generally have the lowestrates. These regions also havelower average incomes and highernumbers of child care pro viders.[See Section II.] Private and publicsector entrepreneurs have been relativelysuccessful in building neededchild care capacity in many of thesecommunities, and this more plentifulsupply may serve to keep theiraverage rates lower.Table I-1. Child Care Center Full-Time Weekly RatesFY2009Source: Illinois Action for Children Resource and Referral Program2- 5- Before Schoolyear- 3- to 4- year- & After Age:Infant Toddler old year-old old to K School SummerCook Co. Average $229 $213 $185 $166 $161 $112 $148N & NW Chicago $238 $212 $185 $164 $158 $110 $145C & W Chicago $242 $229 $196 $172 $169 $114 $141S & SW Chicago $187 $181 $158 $140 $138 $99 $120N & NW Suburban Cook $280 $257 $228 $208 $201 $129 $197West Suburban Cook $228 $206 $187 $166 $162 $101 $150S & SW Suburban Cook $201 $190 $167 $150 $144 $109 $140IDHS Full TimePayment Rates$202.50 $171 $142.50 $71.25 $142.505 hrs./dayTable I-2. Licensed Child Care Home Full-Time Weekly RatesFY2009Source: Illinois Action for Children Resource and Referral Program2- 5- Before Schoolyear- 3- to 4- year- & After Age:Infant Toddler old year-old old to K School SummerCook Co. Average $144 $141 $137 $132 $127 $100 $121N & NW Chicago $164 $160 $156 $149 $144 $116 $147C & W Chicago $137 $133 $128 $123 $120 $100 $117S & SW Chicago $134 $131 $127 $122 $119 $97 $115N & NW Suburban Cook $202 $197 $194 $191 $184 $123 $167West Suburban Cook $150 $145 $142 $139 $134 $102 $127S & SW Suburban Cook $138 $135 $130 $125 $120 $94 $115IDHS Full TimePayment RatesWe find similarly low rates in thechild care homes of the West andCentral Chicago region, reflectingthat the majority of child care homesin this region are on Chicago’s westside, one of the poorest areas in thecounty. Child care center rates inthis region are higher, however, as$133 $128 $120 $60.00 $120.005 hrs./daythe centers are more evenly distributedbetween the poorer westernportion of the region and the wealthiercentral portion.The North and Northwest Suburbanregion stands out for having thehighest rates for both centers andhomes of all six regions.6
Page 1 and 2: child care in cook county:elements
Page 4: ContentsExecutive Summary . . . . .
Page 8 and 9: I N T R O D U C T I O NFamilies and
Page 12 and 13: B.TRENDS IN CHILDCARE RATESLike mos
Page 14 and 15: I. Family Dilemma: Child Care Affor
Page 20 and 21: In 2009, there were 1,456 full-time
Page 22 and 23: II. Family Dilemma: Access to Avail
Page 24 and 25: II. Family Dilemma: Access to Avail
Page 26 and 27: III. Family Dilemma: Finding Child
Page 28 and 29: IV. Family Dilemma:Finding the Righ
Page 30 and 31: V. Public Dilemma: Who Needs ChildC
Page 32 and 33: V. Public Dilemma: Who Needs Child
Page 34 and 35: VI. Child Care Choices ofCook Count
Page 36: ConclusionFinding the right child c
Page 40 and 41: A P P E N D I X 1The Six Cook Count
Page 42 and 43: A P P E N D I X 2The Demand for and
Page 44 and 45: A P P E N D I X 3Sources for Data o
Page 46: 4753 north broadway, chicago, illin

child care in cook county - Illinois Action for Children

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?