New fact sheet details housing insecurity experienced by nation’s child care providers
One in four child care providers surveyed from March 2021 to December 2022 reported difficulty affording housing, according to a recently released fact sheet from RAPID, a project of the Stanford Center on Early Childhood Education. RAPID has been gathering data monthly since March 2021 from 1,000 caregivers and child care providers in all 50 states. While the surveys are national in scope, they are not nationally representative. For more information about how this data was gathered, visit RAPID’s website.
The survey results showed that child care providers are concerned about eviction, foreclosure, and overall – housing affordability. The major findings outlined in the report include the following:
- Of providers who rent, 38% reported concern about eviction. Of those who own, 22% reported concern about foreclosure. These concerns about eviction are especially alarming for Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) providers and home based- providers, whose livelihood is dependent on having a home in which to care for children.
- The average rate of homeownership in the survey is higher than the national average, but this is driven by center directors (77%) and white providers (78%). Homeownership rates were lower amongst center-based teachers (59%) and FFN providers (45%). In addition, rates of homeownership were lowest among Black (48%) and Latinx (57%) providers. This is primarily due to past and current racist policies and practices that create more barriers to housing stability for people of color, who are significantly more likely to experience higher housing cost burden, higher rates of eviction, and higher rates of homelessness.
- 83% of respondents who said they were not currently homeowners said homeownership is a goal. Of those who are not homeowners, the most frequently cited barriers to homeownership included an inability to afford a down payment (66%), lack of availability of affordable housing options (58%), and debt (39%).
More affordable housing options and legislative solutions that address barriers to homeownership would greatly increase housing stability for providers. Research has demonstrated that there is a direct connection between housing and health outcomes, making it essential that we correct policies that have created today’s inequitable systems. In doing so, we can strengthen the well-being of both child care providers and the families and children they serve.
We know that caregivers are the foundation of our communities, and we must consider innovative solutions to address these and other significant challenges they face. Please email Melissa Mares (melissa@coloradokids.org), our Director of Early Childhood Initiatives, or Lauren Corboy (laurenc@coloradokids.org), our Early Childhood Policy Analyst, to find out more about what the Children’s Campaign is doing to support child care providers in Colorado.
