High cost and low pay squeeze summer child care options

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– School is almost out for summer, and working parents are looking for child care services to maintain their daily schedule. But for many parents, finding a daycare that fits their specific needs proves a challenge.

However, with state law cracking down on financial regulations and child-to-staff ratios, both parents and daycares are coping with struggles.

Parents frequently say the high cost of daycare is a major hurdle. Meanwhile, daycares are experiencing significant staff turnover due to low wages.

Jayden Reinhart, manager at NiNi Daycare, explains, "The way that the state does funding for child care, it's getting a little bit more difficult to get I.C.C.P.s (The Idaho Child Care Program) stuff like that. So it makes it more expensive for them [parents] to be able to bring their child to daycare, which makes less parents be able to work and less income for the family in total."

Several daycares have noted that families with multiple children face the most significant difficulties in securing adequate childcare.