Summer struggle: Parents sometimes have trouble paying for child care when kids are out of school

The school year is drawing to a close, which means working parents of school-age children are finalizing child-care plans for the summer.

What was once a steady schedule of school -- perhaps followed by after-school care -- becomes for some a hodgepodge of summer camps and baby sitters. While finding consistent care can be an issue, some area parents have a bigger struggle: paying for it.

Costs

The average cost of full-day, school-age, center-based child care in Cape Girardeau County is about $98 each week, though is can reach as high as $150 and as low as $40, according to the most recent data from the Missouri branch of Child Care Aware of America, formerly the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.

So a parent in Cape Girardeau County with one child needing care could expect to pay $400 a month.

Amelia Peng rides a tricycle around the playground at Southeast Missouri State University's University School for Young Children on Monday afternoon, May 9, 2016, in Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

"The costs are high because it costs a lot to deliver the service," L. Carol Scott, CEO of Child Care Aware of Missouri, said.

Because of regulations and the limits on number of children per caretaker, which Scott noted were important and necessary, "the profit margins aren't high."

More rural counties, such as Scott County, have lower rates, averaging $58 a week. Within a county, sometimes the difference in dollars means a difference in the quality of child care, Scott said.

Struggles

"Sometimes parents feel like they're paying a car payment almost," Jamie Jones, parent liaison at Jefferson Elementary said. "If you have multiple children, it often feels like you're just working to pay a day care."

Families throughout the region, led by working parents or parents seeking employment, struggle to find affordable care.

Jones said it is a frequent issue in her school. Instead of paying for a summer of child-care, she said, parents and friends often come together as a community to create a schedule of shared-child care to help avoid the extra expense.

"A lot are fortunate to have grandmas. They try to rely on family to get through the summer," Jones said.

But for a variety of reasons, the it-takes-a-village method of child care isn't always an option, and parents must find other ways to keep their children safe and occupied during summer.

Ruth Ann Orr, principal at Alma Schraeder Elementary, believes many parents use the district's summer school program not because their children need extra remediation, but because it reduces the cost of child care expenses by a number of weeks.

"However," she added in an email, "most parents are well-aware of the need to provide the day care supervision of the summer, so it is an expected expense."

Just because an expense is expected does not necessarily mean it's not a burden.

Affordability

As the director of the fifth- and sixth-grade program at YMCA of Southeast Missouri in Sikeston, Brittany Ivie has seen children come and go because parents have been unable to pay for summer care. Other families consider taking out loans to make a monthly payment for full-time care for several children.

Upon discovering parents with issues paying, Ivie said her branch of the YMCA began offering payment plans and scheduling options to help lessen the burden. Weekly payment plans keep parents from having to come up with a month's tuition at one time. Half-day and partial-week options, offered by several centers, allow parents to pick and choose when they will need care.

Government assistance for child care also is available for families that qualify. The Division of Family Services offers a list of providers that work with Missouri Department of Social Services to provide low-cost child care to families that fall under a certain income threshold.

"The Missouri Child Care Assistance program provides assistance with payment for child care on a sliding fee basis for eligible parents and guardians," Rebecca L. Woelfel, communications director at the Missouri Department of Social Services, said in an email.

Families with children younger than 13 or families with children older than 13 with special needs may avail themselves to the program to receive care for a decreased rate. Eligibility is based on "the reason care is needed; family's gross monthly income (less health insurance premiums), and family size," Woelfel said.

Discounts also are offered by child-care providers, not just those who work with the DSS program. Multiple-child discounts are offered by a number of centers and programs.

The YMCA in Sikeston, Southeast Missouri State University's RedHawk Kids Camp as well as its University School for the Young Years, summer camp programs offered by HealthPoint Fitness in Cape Girardeau and Jackson and Kids and Kompany in Scott City are among the centers offering discounts for second children and beyond.

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department also offers need-based assistance for its summer programs by way of a subsidy requests.

The Boys and Girls Club of Cape Girardeau offer a sliding-scale fee for its summer program based on need and offers opportunities for families to fundraise on their own behalf. Some families, Vicki Lawson, director of operations at the Boys and Girls Club of Cape Girardeau said, are able to raise enough money to cover the entire cost of the program.

"The idea is to reach those who need us the most," Lawson said.

Not all summer-care providers report experiences where parents have trouble paying for their programs, however. Jean Fulton, director of Kids Korner in Cape Girardeau said she's not heard reports of financial issues for her clients. Cassie Dennis, recreation coordinator for the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department said it's rare for parents to have issues.

Availability

Care at all levels of cost also run the risk of filling up. Space and staff limitations can limit the number of children accepted into a given program. The University School for Young Children, for example, has space for 16 school-age children.

Becky Moore, director of the University School for Young Children, said it's rare to have a child drop out of the program before or during the summer program, but they do keep a waiting list in case it happens. Kids Korner, too, has a waiting list for admission.

The Boys and Girls Club has space, but Lawson said all available spots usually are filled before summer. Though they are limited on staff for their six-week summer camp, Lawson said they hope to soon expand their length and extent of their programs.

Other centers, however, keep space available by increasing their staff to accommodate an influx of clients.

"We usually do not put a limit on the number of children unless it is over 50. But even then, we look at adding more staff rather than disappointing a camper," Scott Givens, manager at HealthPoint Fitness in Jackson, said.

"We don't turn anyone away," Cindy Modglin, owner of Kids and Kompany in Scott City, said.

bbrown@semissourian.com

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