STATE CHILD CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

IOWA'S INFANT CARE CRISIS

A baby 's b ra in makes more than one

mi l l ion neura l connect ions per second in

the   f i rs t 3 years of l i fe , bu i ld ing a

foundat ion for school read iness and

success in school and beyond.

9,963 6,1322012 2017

38% decrease in the # of chi ldcare programs in the past 5

years with only a 2% decreasein the # of chi ldren age 0-5

Households inIowa with chi ldrenunder the age of 6have al l avai lable

parents in theworkforce 

75%

Due to our current economic climate bothparents are working outside of the home. Not all child care providers accept infants andtoddlers due to the high cost of staffing. Providers enroll older children rather thaninfants to stay in business.  Infant care is in demand due to Iowa's infant"age definition" and provider-to-child ratios.In the last five years Iowa has seen a decreasein the number of child care providers.           

 In Iowa, the number of available infant/toddler child care slots does not meet the demand

of working families. 56% of parents/guardians contacting

Child Care Resource and Referral are searching for infant or toddler care.      

2012 2015 2017

67% Infant Care 

25% Housing 

8% Other 

In Iowa, the averageexpenditures for a

minimum wage singleparent family with an

infant in chi ld careearning $15,080/yr

5 Years Behind!Providers are receiving

less than 50% of the2014 Market Rate

25%

8%

67%

SOLUTIONS

Modify the DHSdefinition of infantto 0-24 months andtoddler to 24-36

months forreimbursement atthe infant rate

Revise DHSAdministrative Rulefor Category C-2

Providers toincrease capacity

Increase providerreimbursement tothe 75th percentile

of the currentmarket rate

Small business taxincentives for child

care providers

Start up smallbusiness grants  

Financial incentivesto child careproviders whoaccept infants

FOR THE INFANT CHILD CARE CRISIS

Tax incentives forproviders and

families

For more information

go to...

Potential Strategies Addressing the

Infant Child Care Crisis

State Child Care Advisory Committee

Advocating for a Quality Child Care System to Serve Children of Iowa from

Birth through School Age

May 2018

https://earlychildhood.

iowa.gov/

and search "crisis"