Dads Care for Child Care
Wednesday, June 11, 12 – 1pm
Wisconsin State Capitol
Location: Assembly Parlor
When expecting to become a parent, you heard about the sleepless nights and diaper changes.
One thing you maybe didn’t expect? The outrageously high cost of child care, if you’re able to find it at all.
If this is you, you’re not alone. In Wisconsin, the average cost of child care per month for a family with one infant and one toddler pays around $2,890 for child care in a center, or $2,275 for child care in a home. This is more than in-state tuition at UW-Madison.
The child care industry overall is on the verge of collapse if we don’t continue to invest in it, and businesses can’t thrive if workers can’t find reliable care.
Despite the negative stereotypes, we know that dads across Wisconsin care just as much for their little ones.
That’s why we invite fathers, grandfathers, parents, and child care providers to join us as we take over the capitol and show our decision makers that child care impacts us all!
This event is free and welcoming to all dads, parents, and caregivers.
About the Child Care Crisis
Child care is unaffordable and unavailable for too many working families. Child care staff are severely underpaid and this critical industry is on the verge of collapse unless there is continued economic support.
Wisconsin’s child care crisis hits families of color particularly hard because families of color are more likely to pay a larger share of their income for child care than white families. A typical, median-income Black family with two young children would have to spend 56% of their income on child care, a larger share of total family income than that of any other group.
Learn more about Wisconsin’s child care crisis here.
Our Ask
We’re calling on Wisconsin’s state legislators and Congressional representatives to prioritize investments in quality early childhood education. Specifically, we’re asking for:
- Approve $480M funding in the 2025-27 state budget for significant and sustained investment in child care.
- Protect Head Start from federal attacks.
Questions?
We invite all community partners to join us! Contact Daithi Wolfe (dwolfe@kidsforward.org) to learn more or with other questions.
