Parents and the Economy

Last week, NACCRRA released its newest report, "The Impact of the Economy on Parents’ Child Care Choices and Perspectives," which found that quality and cost remain the most important factors for parents when choosing child care. The report shows that despite modest improvements in the economy, many families are still struggling. Nearly 40 percent of parents say the current economy has affected their child care arrangements and they worry about not being able to meet their household expenses. Three-quarters of parents rate affordable child care as the most important (31 percent) or one of the most (45 percent) important factors in helping working families.

Despite the down economy, parents want quality child care. Nearly three-quarters of parents (73 percent) said that they support investing more government money in improving the quality of care, even if it means they would have to pay $10 more in taxes per year.

This report is the latest of many reports that NACCRRA has produced on key aspects of our child care system — with reports on children in disasters, background checks, licensing of child care centers and family child care homes, and costs and prices of child care. These hard-hitting reports are a tribute to the dedicated leadership of NACCRRA's Executive Director Linda Smith.