BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's no secret that raising a child is getting more expensive. Families in New York State, on average, are spending $21,000 on childcare.
"It's a crisis for our families," said Sheri Scavone, CEO of the WNY Women's Foundation. "And so, you get less and less people even wanting -- no matter how much they want to talk about having a child cannot. Just cannot financially."
So what's the solution? Experts say it's providing universal childcare in New York State.
But who's paying for it?
"Right now, we can't do it on the heels of taxpayers," said Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden, Commissioner of OCFS for New York State. "We want to make sure we're very measured and careful in doing that."
Experts hope we can get there in the next five years. The state's childcare task force is working on getting statisticians and economists on board to crunch the numbers.
I spoke with three women involved in the task force to get the bigger picture here.
The issues we're facing
The workforce, accessibility and affordability.
The good news is that help is more accessible. More families are now eligible to apply for New York's Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP)
But childcare centers are struggling. With data showing how important those first few years are, they're doing more work with a thinning workforce.
"We don't have enough room, we close rooms from time to time," said Sofia Mado, Owner of Little Angels Daycare on Harlem Road in Cheektowaga.
She says it's hard to attract new talent. Child care workers earn less than 96% of occupations in New York State and 12% of them live in poverty, according to the WNY Women's Foundation.
Let's talk solutions
There's help you can access right now.
There's a business navigator program built for employers to help parents on the job. There are referral agencies here to help you. You can apply for legal exemption if you have a family member helping you out.
There are also parts of the state budget aimed at helping parents:
- Child tax credit
- Free school lunches
- Capital project money for child care centers to work on expanding
- Tuition assistance for those pursuing early childhood degrees in New York State
Mado said she's working on providing parent workshops at her centers. Her advice?
"They need to start as early as possible; our capacities are really small for infants, so once somebody is pregnant, they should start looking for childcare."
In the meantime, she's not giving up hope.
"We are hoping for the best, we are very loud, we are very determined, and we will not let that go," said Mado.
