The cost of child care in McLean County is now the fourth highest in the state, according to data compiled by the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council.
A look at federal and state data and an EDC survey suggested the average cost of child care in the Twin Cities is $1,600 a month. Economic Development Council President and CEO Patrick Hoban said that's behind only suburban Chicago. Home providers charge around $800 monthly.
"70% of the cost of child care is in the wages. So, you combine that with the requirements for education and licensing that they have to keep up and it has pushed the price above $2,000 a month in some instances," said Hoban.
Hoban said a minimum wage increase plus competition for workers by other business sectors is also pushing day care prices higher.
The survey also showed there is still a shortage of slots for children. In particular, he said the waiting list for infants is 90 people long, so people should make a reservation as soon as they know they're pregnant or adopting.
"People make the mistake of waiting until 2-3 months before they're supposed to have the child before saying, 'Hey, I'd like to sign up for child care.' And they realize they probably have to drive 20 miles away," said Hoban.
Hoban said part of the shortage of infant care is state-mandated child-to-worker ratios.
Economic development impact
As prospective businesses decide where to locate, Hoban said they are now asking the Economic Development Council about the availability of child care right along with how many workers there are and how stable electricity is.
“We're all fighting over the same workforce and you have to pay more to make up for that,” said Hoban. “So it is a combination of the cost of living here, plus the wages to compete.”
If the availability of affordable child care is a barrier to attracting new businesses to McLean County, Hoban said the community should do something about it.
“We realize that without proper child care, then you're not tapping some potential workers,” he said.
He said there are best practice examples out there including one called the tri-state model which uses subsidies.
"The government, the major employers, and the parent split the tuition three ways. That has been successful from what I have seen. That gets people to go back to the workforce," said Hoban.
For now, Hoban said many people must pay for child care that costs more than the price of rent or a mortgage. He said people of childbearing years often make less than the median income and have trouble affording that cost. That may keep some people out of the workforce.
“When we start looking at the solution side, we will definitely see if that's something we want to participate in,” Hoban said.
He said the next step is to figure out how many people have opted out of the workplace because of child care costs, though finding the price point where families make that decision is difficult.
