Sec. 3. Findings
462 words·~2 min read·
/bill/119/s/1411/is/section-3A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: A child’s brain grows at a faster rate between birth and age 3 than at any later point in the child's lifetime. Decades of research show that children under age 3 that receive quality childcare are more likely to have the behavioral, cognitive, and language skills that are developmentally necessary for success in school, college, and life. Of the more than 5,100,000 families with young children that pay for childcare each year, 43 percent of parents pay unaffordable rates (defined by the Department of Health and Human Services as more than 7 percent of income).
In 2023, the average cost of childcare in the United States was $3,190 a month for nanny care, $1,230 a month for a daycare center, and $992 a month for home daycare, with families on average spending 24 percent of their household income on childcare expenses. Families pushed into poverty from childcare expenses typically spend almost 28 percent of their income on childcare. According to a 2023 report, there are an estimated 5,400,000 college students with dependent children.
According to a 2020 report, only about 5 percent of colleges and universities are providing the child care slots that student parents need, leading to long wait lists. Student parents are nearly twice as likely to depart college prior to graduation than students without children. Single mothers and Black parents, especially fathers, are particularly likely to suspend enrollment before completing their educational programs. The Child Care Access Means Parents in School Federal grant program under subpart 7 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070e et seq. ) helps over 3,300 students at institutions of higher education afford child care each year, but this program impacts just 0.5 percent of the entire student parent population, and many institutions of higher education do not open their subsidized child care programs to children under age 3.
The share of public institutions of higher education offering childcare services has fallen in recent decades. Of public, 4-year institutions of higher education, 455 had on-campus day care for the children of students in 2005, compared to 369 such institutions in 2023. Of public, 2-year institutions of higher education, 464 had on-campus day care for the children of students in 2005, compared to 304 such institutions in 2023. Student parents are more likely to be enrolled at community colleges and minority-serving institutions than other institutions of higher education.
Over half of student mothers, 51 percent, attend community and technical colleges. Community colleges and minority-serving institutions lead the higher education sector in educating infant and toddler childcare providers, especially childcare providers of color, so those colleges and institutions are the optimal actors for driving quality infant and toddler childcare access in their regions.
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document