Low Income and Impoverished Families Pay More Disproportionately for Child Care

From the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, this policy brief examines child care costs for low-income families using data available from the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Researchers find that low-income families can spend up to 32 percent of their monthly earnings for child care, which is two times the share paid by families living right above the poverty level and five times the percentage paid by families living at 200 percent of poverty or higher. Authors explain such findings and offer policy implications for child care subsidy programs.