More than two-thirds of the children in the United States who are not in school have parents who are in the workforce. This makes childcare critical, not only for working parents but also for the early learning and development of the children. Options for childcare can be limited, and costs are high. Many parents barely make enough at their jobs to pay for childcare. High-quality childcare is simply inaccessible for many families in the United States.
In the state of Illinois, there were approximately 813,447 children under the age of six in 2023. A significant portion of those children (135,348) also lived in poverty. The percentage of those children whose parents both worked was 71.1 percent. 89,745 parents reported quitting a job, not taking a job, or significantly changing their jobs because of childcare problems.