MADISON, Wis. -- Childcare costs are out of reach for many, because it is considered unaffordable, even when you often factor in two salaries.
Families in the city of Madison on average are paying $400 a week for infant care. Across Dane County, it's within $20 of that amount on average.
"Those struggles still persist and they've probably gotten worse in many cases, the cost of care is a lot, I think, in this county. It averages out about 17% of the median family income annually, and that's for one child," says Monty Marsh from the City of Madison's Early Care and Education Department.
Part of the steady increased cost of childcare may be attributed to low wages for childcare workers
"They're averaging around, I believe it's $14 to $15 an hour for your lead teachers. So, it's hard to keep that workforce consistent in your classroom. And as costs continue to go up and the cost of living goes up, it's hard to pass that cost on to parents to keep your qualified workforce," he says.
And Marsh shares says the department continues to see a steady increase in request for their assistance programs.
"The City of Madison has a childcare assistance program. So, we help people who are not eligible for the state childcare assistance program. The state program goes up to 200% of the federal poverty level, and that's based on how many kids you have, how many adults are in the house. Typically, that's around $40,000 for a family of four. The city will go up to 300%, so that does increase as well," he says.
However, there are still other expenses that factor into childcare as well.
"But still, when you factor in the co-pays, the cost of care, transportation and then the limited access that there is to childcare right now, it's really hard to meet those families where they're at and then make that connection to something that's really valuable in the field."
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