Every child deserves a solid foundation in life, regardless of income. Affordable and accessible early care and education ensures that parents can get to work and sets children up for a strong start. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how child care is critical for children and families and why early care and education providers are an essential part of our local communities and a thriving economy.
Even prior to the pandemic, child care programs were operating on thin financial margins—struggling to cover the cost of doing business while keeping their tuition at a level that families could afford. This sector of the economy was also hit hard by the rising cost of doing business. Without federal stabilization dollars, many programs would have shut down. Even so, three years after the start of the pandemic, employment in the Wisconsin child care industry is still below pre-pandemic levels. Today, 22% of the Fox Valley is considered a child care desert, which is an area with little or no access to quality care. Families in Outagamie county experience the greatest impact–36% of the county is without an adequate supply of child care.
Even when Fox Valley families can find a space for their children in a program, they may be unable to access care because it is unaffordable.¹ Child care is considered unaffordable if families are paying more than 7% of their income.² But for many families in the Fox Valley, and particularly families of color, the cost of care far exceeds that threshold.
A strong early care and education system is a win for all children and families in the Fox Valley and across Wisconsin. But the shortage of child care is keeping many parents at home to care for their children, which contributes to the worker shortage in our state. Lack of affordable child care means children, families, and businesses suffer.
Access to Quality Care
The Governor’s 2023 budget proposes to increase access to quality, affordable child care by investing $300 million to fund the Child Care Counts program. This helps providers stay in operation, pay their workers fair wages, and provide high-quality care. If legislators approve, these changes would improve the well-being of our young children, reduce racial disparities, help parents participate in the workforce, and boost Wisconsin’s long-term prosperity.
Take Action
Contact your legislators and let them know that Wisconsin’s children & families deserve better:
- Find your representatives
- Use our budget analyses here to help inform your comments
- Sharing your personal experiences in your own voice is incredibly powerful.
- To learn more about how to advocate for more equitable education policies in Wisconsin, read Standing up for Racial Justice: A Starter Guide on Policy and Advocacy in Wisconsin.
View the Starter Guide in English, Spanish, or Hmong above.
Community Resources
- Child Care Resource and Referral
- First Five Fox Valley
- Stronger Together Fox Valley-Good Early Start Team
Contact
Amanda Martinez, amartinez@kidsforward.org
- Families in the Fox Valley also struggle to find care because the operating hours don’t align with parents’ work schedules or the programs don’t offer care that affirms families’ language, traditions, or culture. (Gallagher, Helmenstine, Lawrence, & Sucsy, 2020)
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-09-30/pdf/2016-22986.pdf