By Matt Bruenig, Cavan Images/Getty Images, The New York Times, April 9, 2022
In some European countries, parents can choose between sending their children to heavily subsidized day care or receiving a stipend from the government to take care of them at home.
In most parts of America, parents of babies and toddlers have neither option. The United States is a global outlier among developed countries for its lack of government support for child care.
That’s why it’s notable that New York State is on the cusp of expanding access to affordable child care. New York lawmakers on Saturday announced the approval ofa budget that would help provide subsidies for families making up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, around $83,000 for a family of four. With the average price of child care for an infant in New York sitting above $15,000 per year, such subsidies are urgently needed.
But child care outside the home is only half of the equation, and the New York plan includes no public child care support targeted at families who choose to care for young children themselves. It gives the day care option, but not the option for parents to stay at home.
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