skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: MN Child Care Costs Third Highest in Country

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 28, 2009   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Child-care costs in Minnesota are the third highest in the nation, based on the price of care as a percentage of the median income for a two-parent family, according to a new report from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. However, new laws passed in the last legislative session will help offset the high costs.

The report says the median family income for a single-parent family in Minnesota last year was more than 26,000 dollars, and the average yearly cost to have two children in day care was above 22,000 dollars - that is, better than 85 percent of that family's income. James Carlson, director of public policy for Child Care Works, says finding affordable and quality care is difficult in Minnesota, but that the state's new Quality Rating and Improvement System will help families make educated decisions about child care.

"It is designed to give parents a guideline as to care among providers regardless of where the providers are located."

He says a simple star rating system will be used. A second bill passed by the legislature will direct eight million federal stimulus dollars to help those families needing child-care financial assistance.

Currently, about 30,000 low-income children are in the state's Child Care Assistance Program, and now that will expand to include some of the 6,100 who had been on the waiting list. Carlson says adding more people to the program is good, but that purchasing power for child care is still at a 2002 level.

"Thirty-eight percent of child care centers charge at or below what the state can reimburse a family for their care. In addition, 45 to 48 percent of family care providers are collecting money at or below what the state can reimburse."

Carlson says by helping these families pay for child care, low-wage workers can stay in the work force.

The report is available on line at: www.naccrra.org




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021