Parents in US grapple with childcare costs, job losses

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia: Doctors were not sure if Leyla Ozsancak would ever be able to play in the park with her sister.

The 13-year-old was born with Temple Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which affects growth. Mobility is one of the many challenges she has had to overcome.

“She stayed in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for two-and-a-half months. They weren't sure she would walk or talk. But (today), she walks and talks and does a lot of things,” said her proud father Hakan Ozsancak, beaming.

Leyla loves school, and is a straight-A student.

But finding a place at a school suited to her needs is just one of the countless obstacles and costs that Leyla’s family has faced in caring for her.

“Even though we had insurance and everything else, we (had to) sell our house. It's been years of basically picking up the impact,” said Hakan.

Whether their children need special assistance or not, parents across the United States have felt the impact of childcare in their professional lives as well as their bank balances.

ECONOMIC COSTS

The childcare crisis in the country poses a US$122 billion economic threat due to lost wages, productivity and tax revenue, according to numbers from ReadyNation.

A recent study from the bipartisan Council for a Strong America found that nearly one in four parents reported being fired from their jobs last year due to work interruptions stemming from care for their kids.

Families with disabled children have it even worse – facing many barriers to care, as well as job disruptions, financial strain and stress.

Being an immigrant adds another layer of hardship, according to Paulette Ha-Healy, who also cares for two special needs children. They need to work harder to be able to pay for basic needs, she said.

“There was one year my son missed 52 days of school, and I ended up losing an entire gig because I wasn't able to get there,” said Paulette, a special education advocate.

“I know that resounds with a lot of different families, especially in our immigrant families, who work two jobs just to keep food on the table.”

MORE FUNDING NEEDED

Cheryelle Cruickshank, who runs a non-profit helping disabled children and their families in New York City, said the answer is more money to hire more staff.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many of her programmes at the INCLUDEnyc organisation are underfunded and understaffed, resulting in limited services.

“(More funding is) going to help pay the teachers appropriately. We need more seats where children with disabilities can sit at the table with everybody else,” she said.

US President Joe Biden came into office promising to fix the nation’s childcare crisis and touting affordability for families. However, he did not manage to gain support from the centrists in his party and the legislation failed in Congress.

The White House came up with another way to help parents by using the CHIPS Act, the law aimed at boosting the nation’s semiconductor sector.

The Biden administration released new guidance for its US$52 billion semiconductor manufacturing and research programme last month, which will require firms to enhance employment and contribute to its workforce’s childcare needs.

The conditions will apply to companies such as tech giant Intel, which is building a US$20 billion chip-making campus in Ohio.

CHILDCARE FOR SUBSIDIES

Under the new guidance, any company building a chip factory in the US and applying to get a slice of the billions of dollars in federal subsidies must guarantee affordable, high-quality childcare for workers who build or operate a plant.

Apart from childcare, the Commerce Department also wants firms to detail “specific commitments” to hire and train workers, offer competitive wages, and expand employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals.

“We’re in a very tight labour market and we’re about to create hundreds of thousands of jobs,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimond. 

“We will not succeed without a trained workforce to meet this mission. We need to open the pipeline to women.”

Amid these initiatives to improve childcare in the country and a push for diversity in the workplace, Leyla’s father hopes there will be opportunities in his daughter’s future.

Despite the challenges the Ozsancak family continues to face, the goal is for Leyla to complete high school and go to university.

“I think she will have her challenges for the rest of her life. But she has us and her younger sister to support her,” said Hakan.