Survey finds nearly 40% of WA parents quit work or got fired after having kids

By Laurel Demkovich

“I feel like I’m trapped in poverty,” Heavner said. 

She’s not alone in her predicament. A new study from Child Care Aware of Washington found that a lack of child care in the state costs families and employers billions of dollars annually. Employee turnover and absenteeism and lost family income associated with child care cost about $6.9 billion last year, or around $870 per resident.

The report analyzes survey data from Zogby Analytics, which sampled 606 parents in Washington, and applies the findings to the state’s 1.5 million parents with children 12 years or younger. 

Nearly 40% of parents surveyed reported quitting work or getting fired since their children were born. About 62% reported missing at least one day of work in the last three months, and one in 10 had been out of work for at least a year since their children were born. 

The cost of care, disruptions in availability and a lack of care options are all problems. 

Read the full article in The Washington State Standard