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Childcare Resources:
Affording the Best for Your Child

There’s nothing more important than knowing your kids are safe, happy and in a healthy environment. But how do you keep this safe environment while at work? Here are options for child care and ways to find it that will help you maintain regular employment and know your child is in safe hands.

Options for Child Care
A. Child Care Centers
B. Family Child Care
C. In-home caregivers
D. Care Provided by Relatives, Friends and Neighbors

How To Find Child Care

1. Start early, looking as far in advance as possible

2. Make a call or talk to local child care experts to find out what your options are.

3. Stay involved with your child’s care and caregivers.

4. Visit your potential sites/options and ask questions. Consider the following:

Adult to Child Ratio:
Ask how many children there are for each adult. The fewer the children for each adult, the better for your child. You want your child to get plenty of attention. The younger your child, the more important this is. Babies need an adult to child ratio of no more than 1:4 (one adult for four infants), while four-year-olds can do well with a ratio of 1:10 (one adult for ten children).

Group Size:
Find out how many children are in the group. The smaller the group, the better. Imagine a group of 25 two-year olds with five adults, compared to a group of 10 with two adults. Both groups have the same adult to child ratio, but which would be calmer and safer? Which would be more like a family?

Caregiver Qualifications:
Ask about the caregivers’ training and education. Caregivers with degrees and/or special training in working with children will be better able to help your child learn. Are the caregivers involved in activities to improve their skills? Do they attend classes and workshops?

Turnover:
Check how long caregivers have been at the center or providing care in their homes. It’s best if children stay with the same caregiver at least a year. Caregivers who come and go make it hard on your child. Getting used to new caregivers takes time and energy that could be spent on learning new things.

Accreditation:
Find out if the child care provider has been accredited by a national organization. Providers that are accredited have met voluntary standards for child care that are higher than most state licensing requirements. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) are the two largest organizations that accredit child care programs.

How to Pay for Child Care
For many working mothers and families, child care expenses can take up a large portion of the family budget. These expenses may diminish when children begin attending school, but the need for quality care remains a strain on finances.

There are some resources available to help you pay for your child’s care. Depending on your place of employment, you may be eligible for a “flexible spending account” that can reduce the burden of care expenses.

Flexible Spending Accounts
Also known as “flex-spending” or “cafeteria” accounts, flexible spending accounts provided by some employers allow you to directa portion of your paycheck into an account that can be used to pay for child and dependent care expenses.

The benefit of these accounts is that, because they are set aside for child care funds, they are not considered taxable income by the IRS.This money is withheld from your pay as a pre-tax deduction, which helps lower to adjusted gross income for tax purposes. However, there is a limit on the amount that can be put into the accounts from your paycheck. For example, individuals or couples with one child or dependent can set aside up to $3,000 a year, whereas those with two dependents can set aside up to $6,000 yearly.

Child Care Credit
The Child and Dependent Care Credit is tax credit available to people who have to pay for child care services for dependents under 13 in order to work or to look for work. Voluntarily benefiting from a Flexible Spending Account may make you ineligible to receive money through the Child and Dependent Care Credit.

The child care credit is a percentage, based on your adjusted gross income, of the amount of work-related child and dependent care expenses you paid to a care provider. The credit can range from 20 to 35 percent of your expenses, depending upon your income. If you are in a 27 percent or higher tax bracket, then choose the Flexible Spending Accounts. Otherwise, to claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses, you must meet certain conditions. You can find more information at:

Child Tax Credit (Women Work! web site):
www.womenwork.org

The Baby Center:
www.babycenter.com

Head Start
This program allows parents who meet certain income restrictions to give their children (from birth to age 5) care through their comprehensive child development programs. These programs include:

Early head start - which promotes healthy prenatal outcomes, enhances the development of infants and toddlers, and promotes healthy family functioning

Head start - designed to foster healthy development in low-income children

American Indian-Alaska Native Program Branch (AI-ANPB) -- provides American Indian and Alaska Native children and families nationally with comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, socialization and other developmental services promoting school readiness.

To see if you are eligible to receive Head Start care, please visit: www.headstartinfo.org or call the Head Start Information and Publication Center toll-free at: 1-866-763-6481.

To find a head start program in your area go to: www.acf.hhs.gov

Other Resources for Funding Child Care

A list of state agencies can be found on the web at:
www.childcareaware.org

Day Care Directory
Care.com provides care options for every family member: children, elderly parents, and even pets.  The Day Care Directory is a comprehensive nationwide listing of day care providers which allows users to search by zip code. In addition to the Day Care Directory, Care.com also provides access to babysitter and nanny listings as well as articles and advice for parents and child care providers.


Contact your state agency directly to find out what assistance might be available to your family. Or, try the Child Care Bureau (through HHS) at www.nccic.org.
Phone: 1-800-616-2242

Nation’s Network of Child Care Resource and Referral
www.naccrra.net
Phone: 703-341-4100

Child Care Aware
www.childcareaware.org
This site includes the Child Care Connector for locating resources in your area, and materials in Spanish.

National Association for Family Child Care
www.nafcc.org
(801) 269-9338

Visit the Resources section of www.womenwork.org or call (202) 467-6346 for information on the Child Care Credit, Dependent Care Credit and the Earned Income Credit.

Tip sheet last updated 7/05