Jacksonville parent: Lawmakers are ignoring a crisis faced by families all over Florida

Almost any mom in Florida can tell you that childcare isn’t working for families in our state. I’m luckier than most and still, my parents had to uproot their lives and I had to adjust my job to give my 4-year-old quality, affordable care. Too often, Florida moms and families without those options are closed out of the jobs they need to make ends meet.

My daughter is now enrolled in a neighborhood preschool I love, but for years my parents have had to supplement our childcare. My options were to leave the workforce because we couldn’t access affordable childcare or ask my parents to leave the South Florida home and community they loved to come help us.

I thought we’d have a solution when my daughter turned 4 and was finally old enough to use the state’s voluntary prekindergarten education program. But I discovered it provides care for just three hours a day. How is that helpful? My job is full-time and doesn’t end at noon every day.

In the end, we kept my daughter in our neighborhood pre-school for part of the time. We rely on my parents to care for her when the school is closed, as we count down the days until she is old enough for public school.

It’s a common problem. I recently spoke to a mom who simply cannot find childcare in her neighborhood. The only slots she is finding are either more than 45 minutes away (much longer with traffic) or the cost is prohibitive. She is currently trying to juggle working from home while caring for her little one ― but it’s not working and there’s no relief in sight.

It shouldn’t be this difficult. Families right now are hanging off a childcare cliff. Our country’s childcare system, already crumbling from chronic underfunding, was pushed into an even deeper crisis by the COVID pandemic. Congress took bold, badly needed action by investing critical funds in stabilizing the childcare market, which saved our system from total collapse.

But those funds expired on Sept. 30 and the crisis continues. Without further investment, childcare providers, families and our economy will be hit hard. This is especially true in Florida where families and childcare providers are dealing with some of the highest inflation in the country and an insurance crisis is also hitting families hard across the state.

The stakes are clear. Without high-quality, affordable childcare, moms can’t stay in the workforce. Families can’t make ends meet. Businesses can’t hire and retain the employees they need. Our little ones don’t get the early education and social support that help them succeed, while our economy suffers.

Letters: It's time for Jacksonville to 'carpe diem' and get moving on Riverfront Plaza

It’s a vicious cycle that too many families experience: You can’t work without childcare, but you must work to pay for childcare.

The 2023 Kids Count study found that 13% of children, birth to age 5 in Florida, lived in families in which someone quit, changed, or refused a job because of problems with childcare. A 2022 study from Child Care Aware of America found that infant childcare costs in Florida exceeded college tuition.

It’s time for Florida leaders at all levels (from those in Congress to those in the state legislature) to invest resources in solving this problem. We need investments that will stabilize childcare programs and make it possible for them to pay family-supporting wages to their early educators and reasonable benefits for this vitally important work.

UNF grad student: Florida must do better on paid parental leave for all families

We also need a voluntary prekindergarten program that actually works for families, with full-day coverage to match the realities of a working parent’s day.

In October, MomsRising brought dozens of moms from Florida and 15 other states to Washington, D.C., to deliver childcare stories to Congress. We did it because moms are on the frontlines of this crisis, and the damage is mounting. Only when lawmakers act will Florida families, communities, businesses, and our state’s economy thrive.

Nina Perez lives in Jacksonville and is the national director for early learning at MomsRising.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: End of COVID funds add to childcare crisis for Florida families