Access to Child Care in WisconsinEARLY CHILDHOOD ADVISORY COUNCIL

DECEMBER 5, 2018

1

Defining a Child Care Desert

For the purposes of this report we use slots instead of using regulated capacity. Slots are defined as regulated capacity multiplied by 1.3.

2

Child Care Deserts in WisconsinOf Wisconsin’s 774 zip codes, 293 (38%) are considered child care deserts.

3

Comparing Wisconsin to Other States

StateShare of ZIP codes that are child care deserts

Share of population living in child care deserts

Share of population under age 5 living in child care deserts

Illinois 60% 67.6% 71.7%

Minnesota 65% 72.1% 74.9%

Ohio 46% 27.0% 28.7%

Wisconsin* 38%/45% 17.1%/26.5% 17.7%/27.4%

*Note that the first number reported uses slots instead of regulated capacity when identifying child care deserts which is consistent with the data reported throughout this paper; the second number uses regulated capacity which provides a better comparison with data from other states.

4

Child Care Deserts by Region

5

Newly Regulated Providers by Region

• The Southeastern region has the highest proportion of newly regulated providers and the lowest proportion of ZIP codes considered deserts.

• 82% of newly regulated providers in the Southeastern region are in Milwaukee County.

6

Child Care Deserts in the Western Region

7

Access to all regulated child care Access to high quality (3-5 Star) child care

The Trilemma We Face

Availability

QualityAffordability

8

Breakdowns in the Triad Have Consequences for:- Children - Parents & Families- Businesses

9

A licensed child care

center, 28.1%

A licensed or certified family child care provider,

13.4%

Before and/or After School Care, 2.2%

A friend or relative, 23.7%

An unregulated provider who runs a business in

their home, 17.0%

A babysitter or nanny

who comes into my

home, 2.2%

I am unable to find child care, 1.3%

Other (please

specify), 12.1%

“I had to wait 8 months after my

daughter was born to get her into daycare,

however, I put her on a waiting list when I was 5

months pregnant”

10

Lack of providers where I liveLack of providers where I work2nd or 3rd shift work schedule

Weekend careAge of the child(ren)

Multiple childrenCost of childcare

Quality of available childcare optionsOther (please specify below)

0.00% 100.00%

If you are unable to find childcare that fully meets your needs, which of the following have impacted your search? (check all that

apply)

“I have one child in Boys’ and Girls’ Club, another that goes to a family friend because of cost and another that goes to daycare. The daycare center has more room, it just costs too much.”

Only 43.5% of parents felt that their current child care arrangements fully met their family's needs

“I don’t have a guaranteed sitter. My kids need a schedule and something consistent and they don’t have that.”

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“Desperate parents may sacrifice finding a more qualified provider to ensure their child’s safety and development so they can keep their jobs”

42.5%

42.5%

15.0%

Number of Child Care Arrangements

1 Child Care Arrangment

2 to 3 Child Care Arrangements

4 to 7 Child Care Arrangements

Hours Parents Spend During Work Hours Making Other Child Care Arrangements

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34%

29%

15%

7%

15%

Less than 1 hour per month1-2 hours per month3-4 hours per month5 or more hours per monthNone

For Jackson County with 8,614

employees, this equates to about a

loss of $209,738 per month, $2,516,856

annually.

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Availability

QualityAffordability

AddressingBreakdowns in

this Triad Creates

Benefits Across the Board