Identifying Key Problems in Iowa
Iowa faces several problems that affect the existence and quality of some services. The major problem involves inadequate health care, education, and law enforcement funding. The state also struggles with economic challenges that affect the residents’ wages, with the minimum wage set at about seven dollars. The other problem affecting most working households is the lack of access to quality child care. This paper focuses on the struggle that most families in Iowa endure with the affordability of child care.
Defining the Selected Problem and Its Significance
Childcare is a significant problem for Iowa households with at least one member working full-time. The workers find it challenging to meet ordinary household expenses, and child care is an expense that they feel stretches beyond their earnings. The problem is serious and exists given that some people can choose to change or turn down a job due to challenges in accessing affordable child care. Data for 2021 Iowa shows that a higher percentage of family members quit, changed, or declined a job because of challenges with the affordability of child care.
According to Wallace et al. (4), up to 14 percent of Iowa families are affected by this challenge, which is against a national average of 13 percent based on data for children aged five and below. Women are the most affected, with data showing that over 53,000 women left their jobs between 2020 and 2021 (Wallace et al., 9). Therefore, the evidence shows a real discrepancy between the amounts families can afford to pay and what they have to incur to provide high-quality child care.
Community Perspectives and Potential Solutions
The community argues that the expenses incurred in child care in Iowa rival tuition and fees for an undergraduate program at the University. That cost has shocked many residents who feel that at a young age, a parent should be focused on saving for the child’s future. However, the real situation is that children are gobbling up money at a young age. The community also argues that the current solution, which the federal government has provided in partnership with the state, is inadequate. The cooperation is enacted under the Child Care Assistance (CCA) program that seeks to support families by covering part or all of the expenses incurred in child care.
According to Wallace et al. (9), CCA managed to cover about 20,000 children each month in 2021. The cutoff to qualify for such assistance is low in Iowa, which is ranked 44th nationally and is set at 145 percent of the federal poverty level. This translates to an annual income of about $31,842 for a family of three (Wallace et al. 11). The amount is still short of what is required to enable the families to afford quality care without help.
A tentative solution to the problem entails raising the amount that registered or licensed providers are reimbursed through CCA, which can be enacted through legislation. Wallace et al. (9) indicate that the legislature can also implement laws to raise eligibility for CCA from the current 145% to at least 185% of the poverty level to capture more people. This will provide a safe space for employees who accept a slight increase in their pay that may push them just a few coins above the eligibility cap, which would make them lose CCA support.
Work Cited
Wallace, Laura E., et al. “A Disruption, Not an Interruption: The Impact of COVID-19 on Child Care in Iowa.” Child & Youth Care Forum, 2023, pp. 1–21, Web.