Nearly 57% of West Virginia children under the age of five have parents in the workforce, and those parents say money is increasingly tight and they’re worried about affordable child care, according to a new poll.
Experts say families are delaying having more children, but one in five parents are either cutting back on basics or struggling to keep a job because of child care costs.
Sarah Rubinfield is the managing director of government affairs for First Five Years Fund, the group that commissioned the survey.
“In West Virginia, child care costs an average of $850 dollars a month, which is a sizable portion of a family’s monthly budget,” said Rubinfield. “So this is having real, tangible impacts on families and how they’re living their lives.”
Sixty-seven percent of rural families say they anticipate their financial situation will stay the same or get worse over the next year. More than half of those voters say they support the Trump administration, while less than a third identify as Democrats.
The federal Child Care Development Block Grant program provides vouchers to families to help offset the cost of care, but Rubinfield said those dollars are shrinking.
It’s estimated nearly 60% of eligible children aren’t being served due to a lack of funding.
“So currently that program,” said Rubinfield, “for families making about $65,000 dollars a year less, for a family of three, would be eligible.”
Two-thirds of rural Americans say federal funding for child care and early learning programs is a good investment of taxpayer money, and more than 70% support the expansion of child care tax credits.
