The high cost of child care in the United States is fast becoming a crisis, with many families struggling to find affordable options.
Childcare is among the biggest expenses in American households. Typically, childcare services cost $700 a month, according to data from Bank of America. However, this can go up in some states.
In New York, for instance, families spend more than $1,600 a month on childcare. That amounts to $20,000 a year. In all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, the cost of child care was even 25% more expensive than the average cost of renting.
To resolve the surging cost of childcare, here are what presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump propose.
Capping Cost of Childcare
In February, Harris proposed capping the cost of child care to no more than 7% of the incomes of working families. The caps were part of the Biden administration's earlier objectives. It is unclear how Harris would pass legislation to cap childcare costs or how the initiative would be funded.
In addition to capping the cost, Harris has pushed for a $6,000 child tax credit for newborn parents. She also proposed expanding child tax benefits to give $3,600 to families with children under age six and $3,000 to households with older kids.
READ MORE : Proposed Child Tax Credit Boost Would Give $6,000 to Families, Save Millions of Children From Poverty
Trump has remained silent on his plans to address the surging costs of child care. However, his running mate JD Vance floated a $5,000 child tax credit.
Other Proposals To Address Child Care Crisis
Apart from his child tax credit proposal, Vance also suggested that parents should seek help from family members---specifically grandparents or uncles and aunts---to reduce the cost of child care. In that conversation,
Vance later clarified his suggestion, adding that grandparents might want to help with child care. He also called for more accessible educational routes for people hoping to enter the field.
Childcare professionals are currently earning $30,360 a year, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The COVID-19 pandemic also led childcare workers to exit the field in favor of higher-paying jobs.
