Report: One-third of mothers, regardless of income, don’t seek employment due to childcare issues

One-third of all mothers, regardless of their income, do not seek employment due to childcare issues, all while there are diminishing home-based child care options, which tend to be more affordable and flexible than regular child care centers. 

Those are the findings in two new reports added to the Robin Hood Foundation’s Poverty Tracker. The reports, Child Care-Related Work Disruption in the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker and Home-based Child Care in NYC in the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker, released by Robin Hood in partnership with Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy and its Population Research Center, showcase challenges in the childcare landscape. 

“While New York’s investment and 3-K for All and Pre-K for All has been a lifesaver for hundreds of thousands of families, too many families continue to lack access to reliable and affordable child care, especially for children from birth to three,” said Richard R. Buery, Jr. CEO of Robin Hood. “Along with the lack of affordable housing and the soaring cost of living, childcare challenges leave too many parents grappling with how to make ends meet and whether they can continue to live in New York City,” 

“Containing child care costs, expanding access, stabilizing home-based child care through higher subsidies, and ensuring that providers and their staffs have access to competitive benefits, job training, and professional development, are all essential to building a vibrant child care infrastructure in New York City,” Buery added. “Without it, the city stands to lose its competitive advantage in attracting and retaining a skilled workforce. The lack of child care is one of the city’s greatest existential threats.”

The reports also state that more than half (53%) of mothers living below 200% of the poverty threshold experience work disruptions due to inconsistent childcare. Additionally, home-based childcare was unaffordable for 53% of families living above 200% of the federal poverty threshold. 

“Work-related child care disruptions have serious implications for families’ economic wellbeing. Families whose employment was disrupted by the lack of affordable child care had less stable employment going forward, and were more likely to experience material hardship, with longer-term implications for child wellbeing,” according to Kathryn Neckerman of the ECPT study.

Racial disparities remain prevalent, and with Black or Latinx families especially reliant on home-based childcare, this population will be significantly impacted if home-based childcare providers continue to struggle financially. 

The reports include several recommendations, such as removing the minimum earnings requirement for subsidized care, streamlining and simplifying the application process for childcare, and decoupling authorized hours of care from work hours.

Robin Hood's Poverty Tracker, launched in 2012, releases surveys to explore the impact of poverty and material hardship.