The Child Care Paradox: How Child Care Providers Balance Paid and Un-Paid Caregiving

This brief reports the findings from interviews with 26 Black, Latinx, and immigrant women across the U.S. in the child care workforce. The interviews highlight structural flaws in the American child care system directly related to its undervalued position as a profession. In addition to being underpaid and at times un-paid, interviewers found that child care providers often lack employer-provided insurance, work long and unpredictable hours, are not seen as professionals in their field, and ironically, often cannot afford child care for their own children.