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Child Care

All children in Maryland deserve access to quality child care services, regardless of income. Over 75% of children in Maryland under the age of
12 have mothers in the workforce. Child care is a critical need for families, especially those that have left welfare and are trying to achieve self-sufficiency through work.

Quality early education experiences ensure that children enter school ready to learn. The cost of care in Maryland is high, and quality, in many settings, is less than adequate. Based on Work Sampling Results from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), we know that only 58% of our state's children enter school ready to learn.

Three nationally recognized longitudinal studies indicate that investing early in a child's education pays tremendous dividends. Research shows the State can expect a return of $7 on every $1 invested in early childhood education and services.

Current Services     

•         Maryland provides child care subsidies to low-income families through the Department of Human Resources’ Purchase of Care (POC) program.

•         Families can use POC vouchers in licensed child care centers, registered family child care homes, and certain unregulated informal child care settings, including care provided by a relative, care provided in the child’s home, or care provided for less than 20 hours a month outside of the child’s home.

•         The local department of social services office gives an eligible family a voucher for each child needing care. The family purchases child care directly from the provider, paying any difference between the cost and the amount that the voucher pays.

•         The average weekly cost of care for a child under 24 months in center care is $198 and in family care is $139. The average weekly cost of care for a child 2 to 5 years of age in center care is $125 and in family care is $115. School age care for a child in a center averages $115 per week and $102 per week in family care. 

•         In order to receive a subsidy for child care through the POC program, families must meet income requirements.

•         Services are provided to families in the following order of priority: 1) families who have applied for, or who are receiving, public assistance; 2) families who are attempting, through work activities, to transition off of public assistance; and 3) families who are working, attending public school, or are in training and who are at risk of becoming dependent on public assistance, who also have an income within established Purchase of Care income guidelines. Within each category, first priority is given to the families of children with disabilities.

•         POC and other child care programs suffered disproportionate cuts in the 2003 legislative session. The Department of Human Resources, in an effort to contain costs, instituted a waiting list for POC vouchers in January 2003. As of July 2005, there were over 20,000 children on the waiting list for Purchase of Care Vouchers.  Effective November 1, 2005, the Department of Human Resources announced the opening of the POC waiting list.  All families who meet program eligibility requirements will be able to receive vouchers.

Gaps and Challenges

•         As of November 1, 2005, a family of three with an income of up to $29,990 is eligible for some subsidy. The family is required to make a significant co-payment and pay the differential between what the State pays and what the child care provider charges. The State has not updated the market rates since 2002. MAP advocates for decreasing the family’s co-payments and updating the market rates.

•         Only approximately 34% of eligible families access POC. Outreach is needed to ensure that those who are eligible are receiving services. In addition, further changes are needed to ease eligibility standards and decrease co-payments so that low- and moderate-income parents can afford to place their children in quality child care environments.

•         New federal TANF requirements may force more parents to spend increasing amounts of time at work or in work-related activities, thus increasing their needs for child care.

•         Child care providers need continued training and increased compensation. Wider education about the child care credential and program accreditation is also needed.

•         Low-income parents need support to find and pay for quality child care.

Marylanders need to be educated about the importance of early childhood development. Countdown to Kindergarten, a public engagement campaign spearheaded by leaders from the public and private sectors, is working to build the public will to make the investment necessary to ensure that all children enter school ready to learn.

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