MILWAUKEE — In Wisconsin, the combination of lengthy waitlists and steep costs associated with day care is forcing many women to leave their jobs and become stay-at-home moms.
According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the cost of child care for two children in the state surpasses the expense of a year of college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for two undergraduate students by at least $3,000.
Finding affordable and quality child care is a challenge for many parents. That includes parent Callie Colbo, who worked full time at a Milwaukee school before transitioning to full-time motherhood.
Colbo remembers her struggle to find affordable child care. Every center she contacted had waitlists.
“Every child care center that I contacted had a wait list of at least 4-6 months and couldn’t guarantee anything,” said Colbo.
With her second pregnancy, Colbo said she hoped for better luck in securing child care. What she found was that the costs had escalated even further, making it financially unfeasible for her family.
“After looking at two or three different places, just looking at the price and I knew we couldn’t do it,” said Colbo.
Her story resonates with many others, including Emilie Amundson, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Amundson said the lack of accessible and affordable child care has led many parents to forego career opportunities or leave their jobs altogether.
Amundson said getting state-level investments is crucial to ease the burden on parents and child care providers, and reassure them that efforts are underway to address this pressing issue.
“I think the most important thing to know is that there are a lot of people talking about this but there are also a lot of states that have made additional investments at the state level that help make it easier for parents to find child care and for parents to pay for child care,” said Amundson.
Colbo is not only a full-time mother, but she is also a paid volunteer with Milwaukee Succeeds, a nonprofit striving to make early childhood education accessible to all. She said she recognizes the privilege she has in being able to stay home with her children despite the challenges.
While Colbo misses her career, she said she remains grateful for her family’s stability. She knows others don’t have the same luxury.
“I am very fortunate that my husband has stable income and we are able to make it work. However, he is working 50 upward hours a week, and it still makes it very difficult,” said Colbo.
As a parent advocating for change, she said she joins others in the hope for a better, more equitable child care system in Wisconsin.