STATE CHILD CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
IOWA'S INFANT CARE CRISIS
A baby 's b ra in makes more than one
mi l l ion neura l connect ions per second in
the f i rs t 3 years of l i fe , bu i ld ing a
foundat ion for school read iness and
success in school and beyond.
9,963 6,1322012 2017
38% decrease in the # of chi ldcare programs in the past 5
years with only a 2% decreasein the # of chi ldren age 0-5
Households inIowa with chi ldrenunder the age of 6have al l avai lable
parents in theworkforce
75%
Due to our current economic climate bothparents are working outside of the home. Not all child care providers accept infants andtoddlers due to the high cost of staffing. Providers enroll older children rather thaninfants to stay in business. Infant care is in demand due to Iowa's infant"age definition" and provider-to-child ratios.In the last five years Iowa has seen a decreasein the number of child care providers.
In Iowa, the number of available infant/toddler child care slots does not meet the demand
of working families. 56% of parents/guardians contacting
Child Care Resource and Referral are searching for infant or toddler care.
2012 2015 2017
67% Infant Care
25% Housing
8% Other
In Iowa, the averageexpenditures for a
minimum wage singleparent family with an
infant in chi ld careearning $15,080/yr
5 Years Behind!Providers are receiving
less than 50% of the2014 Market Rate
25%
8%
67%
SOLUTIONS
Modify the DHSdefinition of infantto 0-24 months andtoddler to 24-36
months forreimbursement atthe infant rate
Revise DHSAdministrative Rulefor Category C-2
Providers toincrease capacity
Increase providerreimbursement tothe 75th percentile
of the currentmarket rate
Small business taxincentives for child
care providers
Start up smallbusiness grants
Financial incentivesto child careproviders whoaccept infants
FOR THE INFANT CHILD CARE CRISIS
Tax incentives forproviders and
families
For more information
go to...
Potential Strategies Addressing the
Infant Child Care Crisis
State Child Care Advisory Committee
Advocating for a Quality Child Care System to Serve Children of Iowa from
Birth through School Age
May 2018
https://earlychildhood.
iowa.gov/
and search "crisis"