Child care is a costly proposition in New Jersey. In fact the state is the second most expensive in the US when it comes to taking care of children.
A study by HelpAdvisor.com, an information resource for health care needs, found that New Jersey families spend about $440 a week on child care, second only to Nevada at close to $500 a week. That comes to almost $23,000 a year for New Jersey. The nationwide average is $325 a week.
Study author Christian Worstell said the pandemic had a lot to do with this.
“The pandemic forced a lot of day care centers to close. I think there were close to 20,000 day cares across the US that closed down during the first two years of the pandemic,” he said.
Worstell said since the child care funding included in the American Rescue Plan ended on Sept. 30, 70,000 more day care centers in the US are projected to close, leaving more than 3,000,000 children without day care.
“That relief money, which was part of the American Rescue Plan, that was intended to help day cares keep their doors open during a time of decreased revenues,” he said.
He said it’s simply supply and demand. Costs go up as day care centers close.
“The first risk is that your day care might be one of those that closes down now that this federal funding has ended, and the second risk is that they’re able to stay open but they increase their prices because the supply and demand again gets shifted even more heavily in their favor,” he said.
New York State came in 18th with families spending on average $350 a week.