We’ve talked about the child care crisis in the past, but things are looking particularly grim here in Minnesota. Providers don’t have enough money to stay open. Wait, what? Yes, you read that correctly!
Here’s Five Fast Facts on Minnesota’s Child Care Woes:
- 🧒 More Please - It comes down to staffing. Providers need more staff, but they can’t raise prices because that would result in parents going elsewhere. Most small providers are also unable to pay benefits.
- 🧒 No Vacancy - A childcare provider in Moorehead has four of 12 available spots empty because they don’t have the number of required employees. Another has a capacity of 175, but can only take 125 children.
- 🐄 Small Towns - It’s hitting rural Minnesota the hardest. There are shortages in 80 counties, with a shortage of more than 40,000 spots.
- 👶 Bad Equation - State and Federal regulations are causing providers to do some uncomfortable math. Infants cost providers more money because they require more employees. They’re left to only take older children because a single worker can watch more of them.
- 🤷 Solutions? - One of our Senators, Tina Smith, is working on federal legislation that would cap child care costs at no more than 7% of their annual income. Smith says this will support the system and provide parents with more choice.
🔥Bottom line: Forcing people to choose between working or staying home to take care of their kids is a bad move and that’s what it’s coming down to in Minnesota. If anything, our situation in the state is another argument for employer-provided childcare.
What is the solution to Minnesota’s childcare crisis?
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