CHILD CARE

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“Unlike your gas station or your retail store where you might be able to work a little short-handed, child care is not one of those places,” Burkhart said. When child care providers can’t meet capacity, Lee said parents are forced to search for other options. At CASY, Burkhart and Lee both help families deal with these situations on a daily basis. But it’s not just a job to them — it’s personal.

“We all have families, we’re all parents, we’ve all raised kids or have kids, and so we know the situation these families are in, and we know what it’s like looking for care,” Burkhart said. A large part of the work CASY and other agencies do is helping families find assistance with the cost of child care. According to Muncie’s BY5 Early Childhood Initiative, families in Delaware County pay an average of $10,731 each year to provide a child with high-quality childcare — more than Ball State’s annual in-state tuition, which is estimated to be $10,440 without room and board fees for the 2022-23 school year.

Prices vary widely based on the quality of care. According to Brighter Futures Indiana, the average cost of infant and toddler care from a level one provider is $8,727 annually and $12,245 for level three and four providers, which is considered “high-quality” child care.

For low-income families, assistance is available through Indiana’s Child Care Development Fund (CCDF). Eligibility varies, but generally families whose income is more than 27 percent below the federal poverty line are able to get help paying for child care while they are working, searching for a job or pursuing education. These vouchers are what help offset the cost of child care for Kimp and his son.

“Whatever the voucher doesn’t cover, me and his mom pay out of pocket for,” Kimp said. “And I never mind spending money on his child care because his child care is just as important as our needs.”

Burkhart said while finding care for children is a necessity, it can also be a difficult process for parents.

“In a lot of instances, families are looking for care for the first time, and they’re leaving their child with someone that they don’t know,” she said. “So our hearts go out to every one of these families we work with, and we just want to find the best