Child Care Affordability
Supporting Affordable Child Care for Employees
According to a 2019 Child Care Aware of America report about the price of child care throughout the United States, the average annual cost of infant center-based care in Florida was $9,312. That’s more than the average annual cost of college tuition in Florida. The average annual cost of center-based care for a 4 year-old was $7,002. Family child care homes in Florida are somewhat less expensive, but not much. The average annual cost of infant care in a family child care home was $8,070. The average annual cost of care for a 4 year-old in a family child care home was $6,554.
Employers can help make child care more affordable for families
- Federal Tax Relief:
- Offering on-site child care. Businesses can receive a federal tax credit equal to 25 percent of expenses for employee child care. The maximum credit allowed per year is capped at $150,000.
- Contracting for child care within the community. Businesses can contract with a licensed child care program (a center or a family child care home) to provide child care for their employees. Like on-site child care, the federal credit is limited to 25 percent of expenses and capped at $150,000.
- Helping families find child care. Businesses can receive a 10 percent federal tax credit for contracting with Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Contact your county Early Learning Coalition to be connected with child care resource and referral services to help support families to find child care within their budget.
- Offering Employees Tax-Free Payments for Child Care. Employers can set up Dependent Care Assistance Plans, which are flexible spending accounts, that enable employees to set aside up to $5,000 per year in pre-tax salary for child care expenses.
- Tell Your Employees about the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC). When you send your employees their W-2 at tax time, remind them that if they have children for whom they pay for child care services, that they should claim the CDCTC. Let them know more information is available about the tax credit for parents on the IRS child care web page.
Child Care SubsidiesLow wage earning families may be eligible for child care subsidies through the Florida School Readiness program, which is designed to support low-income parents to better afford child care. Eligible families can earn up to about 150 percent of the federal poverty level and still potentially qualify for child care subsidies. Learn more by contacting your county Early Learning Coalition.
Florida Strategy for Quality Child CareAsk your employees to contact their Early Learning Coalition to ask about quality child care. Child care programs that participate in Florida’s School Readiness program are required to have a program assessment and meet a minimum score before signing a contract. The program assessment is an on-site observation of the quality of the program including:
- Responsive caregiving
- Emotional and behavioral support
- Support for learning and classroom organization, and
- Instructional support
Resource Corner
- Employer Tax Incentives for Child Care Summary
- Employee Tax Incentives for Child Care Summary
- Quality Checklist for Evaluating Child Care Programs
- Early Learning Coalition Locator
- School Readiness Program (child care subsidy for low income parents)
- The Business Case for Early Education Investments (One Pager)
