Our Child Care 101 Blog Series focuses on informing and educating voters who want to support child care

What designates an area as a child care desert, what even is a child care desert? According to our friends at the Center for American Progress, a child care desert is “any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots.” 51% of the population and 42 percent of children under 5 years of age in the US  live in a child care desert. 

We know that the cost of child care is a major barrier to families accessing the care they need, but too often the supply and locations are also major hindrances. Child care supply is especially low among certain populations, with 58 percent of Hispanic/Latino families, 60 percent of rural families, and 55 percent of low-income families living in areas without enough licensed child care providers. 

Child care deserts are so prevalent because, surprise, surprise, child care has been grossly underfunded for so long. Without this crucial funding and investment, child care programs are unable to sustain themselves. This then creates a cycle where there is not enough care and when there is care available, families can face difficulties affording the sometimes  limited options available to them. 

Families in rural areas face the greatest challenges when it comes to finding licensed child care and access can vary greatly from state to state. For instance, fewer than 23 percent of Maine neighborhoods have child care deserts while more than 75 percent of Utah neighborhoods do!

Child care deserts are a heartbreaking reminder that child care is not being prioritized in the way it needs to be so families can thrive. This is why, as child care voters, it’s so important to lift our voices on the importance of care. Children and families have been left deserted long enough!

Be sure to check out our other blogs in this series

Child Care 101 : A History of Child Care in the U.S and the Nixon Veto

Child Care 101 : Early Childhood Educators and the Wage Gap

Child Care 101: The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)