On this edition of Your Call, we discuss childcare deserts. Working parents in the US often have a hard time finding childcare. What does that mean for careers and children's development?
According to the Center for American Progress, parents of infants and toddlers pay an average of $18,000 a year for childcare. The cost alone can be daunting, but what if you can’t find a provider at all? In some ZIP codes, children younger than five outnumber daycare spots three to one. How pervasive are childcare deserts and what are policy solutions?
Guests:
Malia Ramler, senior administrator at First 5 Alameda County
Frankie Izzo, family advocate with the Oakland Head Start program, former elementary school teacher
Clarissa Doutherd, executive director of Parent Voices Oakland
Web Resources:
US News: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The State of Preschool in the U.S.
Slate: Welcome to Life in America’s Child Care Deserts
Washington Post: The surprising number of parents scaling back at work to care for kids
Center for American Progress: Mapping America’s Child Care Deserts
The Guardian: How America's 'childcare deserts' are driving women out of the workforce
