Families across the United States are facing a child care crisis, but African- American families are especially hard hit by the rising cost of child care and limited options for working families.

Today, 75 percent of African-American children under age 6 live with parents or other adults who are in the workforce. By comparison, the rate is only 63 percent for non-African-American children.

For decades, African-American women have worked at higher rates than other women, meaning that child care has long been a necessity for these families.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the majority of children under age 5 are children of color. These demographic trends provide a glimpse into the future — one in which the American educational systems and workforce will feature increasing racial and ethnic diversity. 

By 2044, more than half of all Americans are projected to be people of color. The change is already happening, as last year, for the first time, the majority of babies were born to women of color, according to the Census Bureau.

Policymakers must take steps now to acknowledge and address the child care challenges that families of color face so that their children can find success in the workforce of tomorrow.

While researchers repeatedly affirm the deep and long-lasting developmental benefits of high quality early care and education, the supply of affordable, quality options for all families remains distressingly low. Even when high quality child care is available, the price can exceed the cost of median rent or even college tuition.

For a parent earning $30,000 per year, quality child care for two kids is simply out of reach. The average annual cost of center-based child care for an infant and a 4-year-old is nearly $18,000, which amounts to 42 percent of the median income for a typical African-American family.

Despite their higher rate of work, African-American families are likely to earn 40 percent less on average than white families, government statistics show.

Such parents find themselves in an impossible situation: Child care is an urgent need, but they have fewer resources with which to purchase care. Coping with the child care dilemma can be difficult and time-consuming for most parents but is particularly so for African-American parents.

The Center for American Progress found in a recent poll of women of color in the battleground states of Florida, Nevada, Colorado and Virginia that access to child care is an important issue.

When asked what are two of the most important issues that politicians should address, 25 percent of respondents listed access to affordable child care.

Additionally, 73 percent of African-American women in these states felt that a universal public preschool program guaranteeing every 3- and 4-year-old access to high quality, early education would help people like them.

When faced with the high cost of child care, some parents may consider leaving the workforce temporarily.

But that is not an option for most African-American families given their lower earnings. And it is a costly option.

A recent analysis by the Center for American Progress shows that interrupting a career costs much more than just the parent’s lost wages. For example, a 27-year-old African-American woman earning the median income of $35,100 would lose more than half a million dollars in her lifetime income by leaving the workforce for five years — $175,500 in lost wages, about $195,000 in lost wage growth, and $165,000 in lost retirement savings and benefits.

This amounts to a 20 percent reduction in her lifetime earnings.

High quality child care benefits the whole of society, and its effects can last a lifetime. Children who attend quality child care programs are more likely to have future educational success, be employed and develop positive social and emotional skills than those who do not attend similar programs.

When policymakers debate how to spend resources efficiently, they should note that the president’s Council of Economic Advisers found a return on investment of $8.60 for every dollar spent on early childhood care and education. About half of that economic benefit comes in the form of higher earnings for today’s children when they enter the workforce of tomorrow.

American families of color are calling on their leaders to address the child care crisis. By acknowledging the racial disparities in how much families work and earn, they can effectively invest in shared prosperity for all.

RASHEED MALIK and JAMAL HAGLER

Washington

Mr. Malik is a policy analyst on the Early Childhood Policy team at the Center for American Progress, while Mr. Hagler is a research assistant on the Progress 2050 team at the Center.