Child care is an expensive burden for many families, and in Georgia, the issue has become even more pressing. For the Smith family, which lives in Douglasville, Georgia, both parents work as teachers and have three young children aged 5 years, 2 years, and 6 months.
The cost of child care has been a constant challenge, with the couple working second jobs to cover all-day and after-school care. At one point, they even considered having one parent quit their job to stay home with the kids to save on expenses.
“We were just working, working, working,” said Mrs. Smith. “The only time when we were at the house was really, mainly to sleep. We really didn’t see (the kids).”
But thanks to a scholarship funded by her employer, Atlanta Public Schools, and a program by Quality Care for Children, the Smiths were able to save money. This allowed them to make significant purchases, such as buying a house and a car and enrolling their daughter in a basketball program. For the first time in a long while, they had more time to spend together as a family.
A Growing Financial Burden
Across Georgia, many families are facing a difficult decision regarding child care. Families can either pay thousands of dollars a year for child care services, which can get even more expensive with multiple children, or one parent can step back from the workforce to stay home with the kids, which has its own economic consequences. This issue is especially challenging in a state like Georgia, which prides itself on being business-friendly and promoting economic growth.
In response, state lawmakers are now taking action. Senator Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, introduced Senate Bill 89, which would provide a $250 tax credit for every child under the age of 7. The bill also proposes expanding tax credits for employer-sponsored child care programs and increasing the existing credit for child care and dependent expenses. While the bill could save families some money on their state taxes, experts caution that it may not significantly impact the larger issue of child care affordability.
“In metro Atlanta, the average cost of infant care is nearly $13,000 a year, which is higher than in-state tuition for a public college,” said Hanah Goldberg, the director of research and policy at the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students. “These tax credits alone are not sufficient.”
A Step in the Right Direction
While the proposed tax credits may not solve the issue of child care affordability, experts agree that it is a step in the right direction. Danny Kanso, a senior fiscal analyst with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, explained that the introduction of a child tax credit is a significant achievement, even though it represents only a small investment initially.
“The real value here is that we’ve taken the first step to include a child tax credit in our state tax code,” Kanso said. “We can build on this in the future.”
This new tax credit is just one recommendation made by a Senate study committee tasked with addressing the child care crisis. The committee has also suggested increasing state funding for low-income families to receive child care scholarships, expanding Georgia’s universal pre-K program to include 3-year-olds, and creating a child care trust to help fund child care access in the state.
Some of these proposals are already in motion. The Georgia Senate’s proposed budget for next year includes an additional $4 million to expand the Child and Parent Services (CAPS) scholarship program, which would provide 500 more slots for low-income families.
A Long Way to Go
For families like Dival Rivera’s, the tax credit would provide some relief, but it is not enough. Rivera, an Atlanta resident, had to quit his job to take care of his daughter, who has a disability, as well as his two grandchildren. Thanks to a short-term scholarship, his 4-year-old granddaughter was able to attend a child care program for a few weeks. However, once the scholarship ran out, Rivera could no longer afford the $140 per week it would cost to keep her in care.
The Rivera family applied for the CAPS program but was denied due to strict eligibility requirements. Despite the setbacks, Rivera is hopeful that the proposed tax credit will help families like his.
“All that stuff is necessary, necessary,” Rivera said. “Whatever they could do to help.”
The Need for More Comprehensive Solutions
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a temporary increase in funding for the CAPS program through federal relief aid. However, once that aid ended, restrictions on who could access the program tightened, leaving many families without support. Advocates for child care reform argue that more comprehensive solutions are needed.
One such solution is to use part of Georgia’s $16.5 billion budget surplus to establish a trust fund dedicated to child care expenses. With an initial investment of $7.5 billion, the trust could generate a return of 5-10% annually, providing significant funding for the CAPS program and other child care initiatives. This would represent a historic shift in how Georgia approaches funding child care, potentially providing hundreds of millions of dollars for child care support.
“Such an initiative would truly recognize the challenges that families and child care providers face,” said Goldberg. “It would be a monumental shift in how we fund child care.”
While creating a trust fund would be a more significant undertaking than passing tax credits, it’s an idea that has gained traction in states like New Mexico. However, Georgia lawmakers are more cautious. For now, the focus remains on the tax credits, with Senator Strickland acknowledging that more work remains to be done.
“We’re living this, and frankly, it’s about time that policymakers realize what a priority this is,” Strickland said. “I’m open to seeing where things go.”
Conclusion
The proposed tax credit is just a small step toward addressing Georgia’s child care crisis. While it offers some financial relief, experts agree that more comprehensive strategies are needed to truly solve the problem. Whether through expanding scholarships, creating a trust fund, or other innovative solutions, Georgia’s leaders must continue to prioritize affordable child care for families across the state.
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