The Consequences of Insufficient Household Income

CHILD CARE AND
EDUCATION
A quality education is still one of the best predictors of
professional and
financial success in the U.S., and one of the few
ways ALICE families can get ahead in the long
run. For many children, especially those whose
parents need to work, that path begins with quality,
affordable child care (early care for infants to
3-year-olds and preschool for 3- to 5-year-olds).
Quality care builds kindergarten readiness and
supports the vast brain development that occurs
by age 5. The path then continues through
strong K–12 public schools and affordable
higher education.
Yet ALICE families across the country are
challenged to find affordable, high-quality child
care and education for their children, from
infant care through higher education. These
challenges include variable quality among
local child care options, high fees for child
care, the achievement gap for economically
disadvantaged groups and populations of color in
public schools, and the often prohibitive cost of
college.
In all counties in the states included in the
United Way ALICE Project, child care remains the
most expensive budget item for households
with two or more young children. The gap
between the cost of child care and what an
ALICE worker earns is shown in Figure 5, which
compares the 2014 cost of child care for an
infant and a 4-year-old to the monthly salary
of a full-time child care worker whose average
hourly wage was $10.44 (or $20,880 annually if
full time, year-round) (Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2014).
STRATEGIES
What do ALICE and poverty-level
families do when they cannot
afford child care or quality
education?
Child Care and Early Education:
1: Choose Less Expensive Child
Care Options
2: Pay More for Care Than the
Family Budget Allows
3: Access Child Care Assistance
4: Live in a District with Publicly
Funded Preschool
5: Go Without Child Care
6: Modify Work Schedules
K–12 Education:
7: Move to a Better Performing
School or District
8: Drop out of High School
Higher Education:
9: Forgo or Don’t Complete College
10: Take on Student Loan Debt
This section presents the best research available on the hard choices that struggling parents are making every day in order to provide child
care and education for their children, and the consequences of those choices. These are not policy recommendations, but information and
analysis that can help stakeholders create the most effective solutions for their communities.
22 UNITED WAY ALICE REPORT – THE CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD INCOME