Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 79

CHAPTER 2
economic impact. Although they objected initially, employers soon accepted the new law as
they saw the benefits of increased employee productivity, satisfaction, and retention.53 The
British law has now been expanded to cover family caregiving needs beyond child care—for
example, caring for a disabled spouse.
Children in low-income families are more likely to have chronic health problems. One
reason families become poor is that when a parent is forced to choose between keeping a
job and caring for a sick child, she or he generally opts to take care of the child. Federal
standards that require paid sick
leave and paid family and medical
Figure 2.6 Poor Families Spend a Larger Share of Their Income
leave would go a long way toward

on Child Care
helping parents—and all workers—
40%
manage their work and family
responsibilities.
35

Child Care

35.9%

30

More and more parents—57 percent in 2010, up from 49 percent
25
just four years earlier—describe
20
child care as an economic neces20.3%
54 In theory, families with lower
sity.
15
incomes can get federal childcare
subsidies, but currently, only one
10
in six families that qualify actually
8.9%
7.9%
receive this support.55 A number
5
of studies show that subsidized
0
childcare enables more mothers to
All families
Below
100-199
200+
work, especially full-time, and that
with children
poverty
percent of
percent of
subsidies reduce poverty.56 The
under age 5
level
poverty level
poverty level
Child and Dependent Care Tax
Source: Heather Boushey and Jane Farrell (2013), “A Woman’s Agenda for the 21st Century:
Credit, a nonrefundable credit,
A Dozen Policies to Promote Economic Security for Women and Their Families,” Center for
allows eligible families to deduct
American Progress. Authors’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
up to 35 percent of the cost of care
from their taxes, but most low-income families are ineligible because they don’t earn enough
to owe income tax. If the credit were refundable, like the Earned Income Tax Credit, anyone
with earned income who pays for child care would be eligible for it.
The annual cost of full-time care for an infant in a childcare center ranges from $4,600 in
Mississippi to $15,000 in Massachusetts, according to the National Association of Child Care
Resource & Referral Agencies.57 The high cost of care puts it out of reach for many families, especially those who earn too much to qualify for a subsidy but not enough to pay for
high-quality care themselves. After paying for child care and other expenses associated with
working, they may find they have little if anything left over. When both parents are working
in low-wage jobs, they may be able to eke out a living without cutting back on their food consumption or resorting to emergency services such as a food pantry or soup kitchen. On one
income, however, that is extremely difficult. There is not a single U.S. state where a couple

www.bread.org/institute?

? 2014 Hunger Report? 69

n