Among them are deleterious effects on children of unregulated and often substandard childcare; [9] lost productivity for employers due to parents missing work to handle gaps in childcare or to care for a sick child; [10] lost wages and reduced retirement benefits for parents who have to drop out of the labor market to provide at - home care for their young children; [11] a substantial downward pressure on the wages of childcare workers with effects on the quality and stability of the childcare workforce; [12] and lost opportunities for further education, [13] college savings, and other investments that working parents could make in themselves and their children but can not afford because they are spending most or all of their disposable
income on childcare.
In Boston, we spent over one - third of
our income on childcare and after rent, groceries and toothpaste there was almost nothing left.
Approximately one - third of Americans spend 20 % of
their income on childcare alone.
In fact, one out of every five American families spends more than a quarter of
their income on childcare.
However, parents currently spend 9 to 22 percent of their total annual
income on childcare, per child.
Not exact matches
What does this mean for Canadian workers raising children
on incomes that do not afford paid
childcare?
Allows Americans to deduct
childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide
on - side
childcare services, and creates tax - free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low -
income families.
«We've doubled free
childcare to help parents into work, and continue to spend over # 90 billion a year
on support for those who need it, including those who are bringing up a family or
on a low
income.»
«The government must urgently examine how to bring down
childcare costs and ensure that families, particularly those
on the lowest
incomes, can get the support they need.
I am not sure how it is in the rest of the USA, but where I live, in California, early childhood
childcare and education is private and atrociously expensive, like $ 40k / year for 2 kids for FT care, which makes keeping your job vs. taking care of your children sometimes not even economically feasible, or even vaguely attractive, depending
on your
income level.
According to the 1995 U.S. Census Bureau Survey of
Income and Program Participation (SIPP), over thirty - six percent of families of preschoolers with working mothers primarily relied
on childcare in the home of a relative, family daycare provider or other non-relative.
The Low
Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has urged the Government to provide greater clarity to parents
on the many recent and planned changes to child support.1 The tax campaigners are concerned that the
childcare support landscape has become very complex and it is difficult for parents to understand how schemes are supposed to interact, such as tax credits, the planned tax free
childcare (TFC), universal credit, free
childcare entitlement and
childcare vouchers.
Ditto the widely - trailed coalition announcements
on the
income tax threshold (where Nick Clegg has been desperate to stop the Tories claiming credit for the policy they opposed in 2010) and
childcare.
Any additional revenues available through underspends and the proceeds of growth should be used to fund measures which promote work and reduce inequality, such as
childcare support for those
on the lowest
incomes.
He talked about a buccaneering Britain, where working parents will be given 30 hours of free
childcare, where workers
on the minimum wage will not pay personal
income tax and where the NHS will be miraculously saved by new investment.
Individuals need to check their own position carefully because whether they qualify for either scheme and how much help they can get depends
on a number of factors including hours worked,
income, number of children and the amount of
childcare costs.
More powers for Wales, a ban
on income tax rises and more free
childcare are at the heart of the Conservative's Queen's Speech.
He grasped the centre ground by focusing
on living standards and cost of living policy discussion and announcements: the Pupil Premium, capping social care costs, state pension reforms, free
childcare, cutting
income tax, and, his big policy statement: free school meals for all infants.
Everything from cuts in housing benefit and
childcare support for those
on low and middle
incomes, to the abolition of the educational maintenance allowance and the slashing of basic council services will move from the realm of political debate to real life in the new year.
Parents will be excluded from paying the basic rate of
income tax of 20 %
on childcare costs of up to # 10,000 - up from the proposed # 6,000.
· Families in Wales pay more for
childcare than in any other country in Europe except for Switzerland and many parents
on low and middle
incomes are forced to choose between paying high
childcare costs, reducing their hours or giving up work completely.
But the recommendations I've made about how to do that, which are predicated
on the value of family financial support and the necessity for heavily subsidized
childcare for low -
income families, are tentative.
Clearly, from the prior presentation, I favor assistance that is targeted
on families in need, subsidies that are generous enough to allow lower -
income families to purchase center - based
childcare at market rates, budget neutrality, assistance for
childcare itself rather than a universal allowance that the family can spend
on anything, and
childcare and education savings accounts as the delivery vehicle.
That so many adults have faced, are facing, or will face the challenges of obtaining affordable, reliable
childcare is probably one reason that national polls routinely find overwhelming public support for increasing federal and state spending
on early childhood programs for low - and moderate -
income families.
It is not widely known that the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) is based
on a family's net
income i.e.
income from all sources less deductions such as RRSP contributions,
childcare expenses etc..
Many employers also offer a similar pre-tax plan for
childcare expenses so that you can lower your taxable
income on those expenses, as well.
Depending
on your
income, the credit can be up to 35 percent of
childcare costs.
When you factor in
childcare (a big one), paying for all of the mileage and gas
on two cars, buying lots of expensive clothes for work, paying extra taxes (remember there are no taxes
on saving, only
income), and buying ready - to - eat and restaurant meals because your both too busy and tired to cook, many people find that you have more free cash flow with one working spouse and one spouse taking care of the children and household than two
income families.
If you're in work (
on a low
income or paying for
childcare) or looking for work, one of the following may be available.
In terms of the differences between the Dependent Care FSA and the
Childcare Tax Credit, the general advice is that the FSA is the better choice where it is available, because it allows you to avoid paying FICA and Social Security taxes
on the
income excluded in this manner.
While one parent may want to stay home and take
on childcare duties, the loss of that second
income is a huge blow to their household finances.
Because child support is established based
on the parents»
incomes and factors in costs that tend to vary over time (such as health insurance and
childcare), it is highly likely that over time child support will need to be modified.
Even if you aren't the primary source of
income for your family, they may depend
on you for domestic tasks and household needs, such as cleaning, cooking, laundry and
childcare.
Whether or not the other parent is in the picture emotionally, if your
income pays for
childcare costs, living expenses, and a future college education, the financial responsibility falls
on your shoulders.
Conclusions The effects of higher quality
childcare, in terms of quality relationships with carers,
on children's cognitive and behavioural development at school entry were stronger among children from lower
income families.
Results After adjusting for confounding, there was some evidence of effect measure modification
on the additive and multiplicative scales of
childcare quality by
income.
Cost - effectiveness of
childcare discounts
on parent participation in preventive parent training in low -
income communities.
The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) investigates reports of child abuse; finds foster homes for abused and neglected children; issues SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and
childcare assistance to low -
income families; helps out - of - work parents get back
on their feet; and provides numerous support services and innovative programs to help families in need.
The weekly cost of work - related
childcare is placed directly
on the New Jersey Child Support Worksheet and like the health care adjustment is allocated between the parents in proportion to their percentage of the total combined parental
income.
Amounts quarantined from a person's
income can be spent
on «priority needs» including food, beverages, clothing, basic household items, housing, household utilities, heath,
childcare and development, education and training and other specified items by legislative instrument.
Maryland Child Support Guidelines calculate child support based
on the time the children spend with each parent, each parent's respective gross
incomes (pre-tax), the number of children, and certain child - related expenses, including work - related
childcare, health insurance, other medical expenses, and school - related costs.