- Why is child care so costly in Minnesota?, By Jeremy Olson, December 6, 2010, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Minnesota child care leaders are meeting this winter to address a lingering dilemma: the high cost that produces quality child care in licensed centers — but prices some families out of the market. While officials have long known that Minnesota’s child care costs are among the highest in the nation, they have been reluctant to propose cuts that might sacrifice quality. The urgency to address cost has grown, though, as the economy has eroded family incomes and child care has eaten up more of the average family budget. Minnesota now ranks No. 3 nationally by one measure of child care expenses. The average cost of full-time care for one infant in a licensed center reached $13,650 in 2009, exceeding 15 percent of household income for a two-parent family. Only New York and Massachusetts were higher, as a share of income…”
- Child-care subsidy spotty for federal employees, By Joe Davidson, December 7, 2010, Washington Post: “Uncle Sam strives to be a model employer, as least for now. That goal could take a hit with plans for pay freezes and workforce reductions, but he remains a cut above many private employers, particularly when it comes to benefits. One benefit he provides, at least on paper and to some workers, is child-care subsidies. It’s certainly a good investment to support day care for the children of low- and moderate-income federal workers…”
Tag: Washington DC
Poverty in the Suburbs – Washington, DC
Amid Montgomery’s affluence, plight of suburban poor worsens in downturn, By Annie Gowen, November 12, 2010, Washington Post: “Their numbers are growing, but the suburban poor can be tough to spot amid the affluence that sometimes surrounds them. In few places is that more true than Tobytown, a tiny enclave in Potomac still occupied by the descendants of former slaves who founded it in 1875. The neighborhood off River Road, hidden from view on a woodsy stretch of Pennyfield Lock Road near the C&O Canal, is almost jarringly out of place. It nestles in the midst of great opulence – homes guarded by stone lions with lawns big enough for their own soccer fields. Tobytown’s 60 or so residents have struggled to break free of poverty for generations, and their circumstances have worsened in the recession. People have lost jobs and face more difficulty finding transportation in and out of the neighborhood, which is so remote it has no bus service. At the same, Montgomery County has cut funds for a taxi voucher program and an after-school program for kids…”
School Meal Programs – Washington, DC
D.C. schools dinner program aims to fight childhood hunger, By Bill Turque, October 19, 2010, Washington Post: “D.C. public schools have started serving an early dinner to an estimated 10,000 students, many of whom are now receiving three meals a day from the system as it expand efforts to curb childhood hunger and poor nutrition. Free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch long have been staples in most urban school systems. But the District is going a step further in 99 of its 123 schools and reaching nearly a quarter of its total enrollment. Montgomery and Prince George’s Country also offer a third meal of the day in some schools but not on the scale undertaken in the city. The program, which will cost the school system about $5.7 million this year, comes at a time of heightened concern about childhood poverty in the city. Census data show that the poverty rate among African American children is 43 percent, up from 31 percent in 2007 and significantly higher than national rates…”