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Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has co-authored a new bill that would reduce American families' childcare costs.
WASHINGTON — It is 11 o’clock in the morning and Irena Antal is in the middle of her workday when her 6-month-old son Ian wakes up from his nap.
“My work is there I have to complete it,” the Annandale mother said. “Whatever I don’t get done during the day, I have to do in the evening.”
This is a typical workday for Antal, she balances her HR job in one hand and Ian on her lap.
“Do I want to stop my career? Do we want to have just one income?” she said about child care in her family.
Ian is Irena and her husband’s second son. After Ian was born, the family looked into how much child care would cost for both kids. The price for two would be $3,200 a month.
“That’s more than our mortgage,” Irena mused.
This is not a unique story in America. Certainly not in the DMV. All three jurisdictions rank in the top 10 most expensive areas for child care.
A recent child care survey showed that D.C. averaged a little over $2,020 a month per child. Maryland costs about $1,277 per child, while Virginia costs about $1,171 per child.
That is why Irena is working from home and watching baby Ian. There isn’t much choice.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has designed to change that for American families with a new bill.
“It’s a transformative bill to change the way our nation commits to affordable childcare,” Senator Kaine said.
Senator Kaine has teamed up with the State of Washington Senator Patty Murray on the new bill.
It attacks the childcare crisis in two ways.
“It caps expenditures, so no family has to pay more than 7% of their income on childcare,” Senator Kaine explained.
Basically, if a family’s childcare costs exceed 7%, the family would be able to deduct the rest from their taxes. That is not all the bill also addresses childcare facilities.
“We have to make sure childcare providers are paid well by providing grants to states,” Senator Murray said. “So that those childcare facilities have a workforce that is steady.”
Both Senators pointed out that part of the crisis is a lack of workers in the childcare sector. Low wages keep workers from joining the sector, and that raises prices overall.
The bill hit the Senate floor in April, which means it’ll still be some time before it is voted on. In the meantime, Irena will get some relief in the form of her mother.
“She will pause her work to come here (from Germany) and help us. She is going to stay with us for six months,” she sighed.
New family tradeoffs in the age of the childcare crisis.
English (US) ·