Breaking Down the Child Care Crisis | Wisconsin Department of Children and Families

DCF-P-5805 (N. 09/2024)  

Summary:

Wisconsin’s child care system is facing a severe crisis driven by long-standing financial instability, workforce shortages, and high costs for families. Child care programs operate on razor-thin margins, leaving many classrooms empty despite growing waitlists. Providers struggle to pay competitive wages, averaging just $13.55 per hour for lead teachers compared to the state’s average wage of $28.34, and many programs lack health or retirement benefits. These conditions force providers to limit enrollment and families to leave the workforce, costing Wisconsin an estimated $1.1 billion annually in lost productivity, earnings, and tax revenue. Affordability is also a major challenge, with average child care prices consuming 16% of the median household income and rivaling the cost of in-state college tuition, yet still falling far short of covering the true cost of care.

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