Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 6, Number 2, pp. 245-262
© 1999 Oxford University Press
Making Child Care "Affordable" in the United States
Two alternative federally financed plans are presented as models for a program which would make child care of acceptable quality "affordable" for millions of American families. Taking a cue from currently operating state programs, care is defined as "affordable" if it costs parents no more than 30 percent of the amount by which their income exceeds the poverty line. The first plan would cost the government $25 billion per year and would concentrate help on families with incomes up to twice the poverty line. The second would cost $39 billion per year, would provide higher quality care, and would allow all United States families to have access to care that was "affordable" by our definition. Costs of these magnitudes preclude financing of any significant part by employers or philanthropies. While some government savings might result from the beneficial effects of these programs, the main rationale for them rests, not on the calculation that they will save the government money (although they might), but on the fact that they will prevent considerable misery to children and their families. Making quality child care affordable to all families would result in safer, more educational, and more enjoyable care for children, and would give a financial boost to families pitifully short of resources in a non-stigmatizing way. It would reduce child poverty and reduce enrollment in welfare-type programs. It would also give parents a chance to particiopate in the world of work and to achieve the gains in resources and status that such a participation would alllow.