Women, Debt, and Dependent Care: Understanding the High Costs of Family Care

All families are likely to need dependent care for children and/or elderly family members. However, the cost of childcare and elder care leaves too many families struggling to make financial ends meet. Low and moderate income families are particularly vulnerable and oftentimes left without proper and affordable options to care for loved ones. Family caregiving intersects with many of the financial security issues that AFN members work to address.

According to a report by New America, child care costs are more than in state college tuition in 33 U.S. states and parents oftentimes have not saved for the expense in advance of needing child care. At the same time, the cost of child care and in home elder care is rising as more families pay out of pocket. Caregiving costs are exacerbated by the need for flexible schedules and unplanned leave. And, care givers are among the lowest paid workers and oftentimes lacking even the most modest protections in the workforce. While no single approach can solve financial health crisis that affects many families struggling to provide and pay for child and eldercare, we hope to learn and share ideas that each of us is exploring.

Please join Asset Funders Network and Citi for a virtual funder-only conversation on May 5, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. -10:30 a.m. ET about the challenges, tested interventions and promising new insights for addressing the way we think about our work to address women, debt, and dependent care.