LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — If you have little kids at home, you're probably feeling the child care crunch.
According to a new report released this month by 'Child Care Aware of America', from 2022 to 2023, the national average price for child care rose 3.7 percent to $11,582.
In Michigan, the average price of child care when using "family child care" ranges from a little over $9,000 per year for an infant to nearly $8,900 for a toddler.
The cost of "center-based child care" in Michigan runs more than $12,000 per year for an infant or a toddler.
While the cost has gone up, the number of licensed child care programs and licensed family child care centers in Michigan during that time dropped slightly. We posted about this on Facebook, and heard from a host of you, including a single mom here in Metro Detroit and a child care provider.
"The daycare costs are double what my rent payment is," said Amanda Stuky, a Mom in Livonia, who can't afford to buy a home because daycare eats up all her money.
"Annually, how much do you spend on child care costs per year?” I asked.
"Almost $30,000 a year," Stuky responded.
The working, single mom of two girls — ages three and four — receives no child support and makes too much money to qualify for state assistance.
"How would you describe how hard it's been these last five years?” I asked Stuky.
“Very hard," she said. "I rely on my tax money to feed my kids because my paychecks, my paychecks go to cover my rent, my car so I have a car to get them to and from school, to keep the lights on..." she explained while trying to hold back tears.
She was one of dozens of people who responded to our facebook post about the child care crunch.
Some parents said their child care costs are close to $15,000. Others are paying $17,000 or even $19,000 in some cases.
A number of parents explained the cost was 'more than my mortgage' or more than 'rent and my car payment combined.'
Check out the analysis from Child Care Aware of Americashowing the cost of child care versus household expenses here in Michigan last year. The annual child care price for two children — an infant and a 4-year-old in a center — was more than $23,000 — higher than college tuition and also more than housing costs.
One viewer, Rachel Michelle, told us "Thankfully, my employer has the ability for me to put pre-tax money into a dependent care account."
But some parents posted that one of them has had to 'quit working' to stay at home with the kids, or they've had to work 'opposite shifts' to avoid child care costs.
Nearly two years ago, 7 News Detroit highlighted Tiny Stepping Stones Childcare, a center in Wayne open 24/7. But last week, owner Chyna Knowles weighed in on our post, saying "I'm a daycare owner - sadly, were [sic] forced to throw our rates up considering the costs of everything!..."
Currently, the State of Michigan offers two free pre-school programs:Great Start Readiness Program and Head Start. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is pushing for free Pre-K for every 4-year-old in Michigan as part of her proposed $80.7 million budget.
However, it's uncertain if the democratic-controlled House and Senate will keep that line item alive. Their appropriation bills have to be on the governor's desk by July 1st.
But for people like Amanda Stuky, help can't come quickly enough.
One silver lining may be that, while the price of child care continued to rise in 2023, it did not increase as much as in previous years, and it did not outpace inflation.
As for solutions, there are resources and fee assistance programs for those with low income, licensed foster parents, military families, and others below.
MI Kids Matter, through the state's Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential
