New Study: Over 90 Percent of Wisconsinites Think Access to Affordable, High-Quality Child Care is a Problem, Majority Support State Investment to Fix It

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF), announced today that a new WisconSays Survey found that 90 percent of Wisconsinites, including those without kids, say finding affordable, high-quality child care in Wisconsin is a problem, and over three-quarters of Wisconsinites support an increase in state funding to fix it. Meanwhile, for families currently using child care, the survey found approximately half reported missing work or school due to lack of child care and a shocking over 12 percent reported leaving the workforce entirely.

“This new survey underscores what we’ve already known: child care is too darn expensive, it’s too hard to find, and whether you have kids or not, the lack of access to quality, affordable care is affecting our workforce and employers, our economy, and our communities statewide,” said Gov. Evers. “Wisconsin has faced generational problems recruiting and retaining workers—we cannot afford more folks leaving their jobs because they can’t access child care. And, yet, this survey shows over 10 percent did. That’s not sustainable for our state.

“This is an issue that impacts everyone in Wisconsin. It’s pretty simple. And as leaders, we have an obligation to the nearly 80 percent of Wisconsinites who want us to do something about it and expect their elected officials to show up, act in good faith, and work together across the aisle to solve problems. Addressing our state’s child care crisis must be one of them. I’m urging Republican lawmakers to join me in supporting real, meaningful investments to bolster providers, cut waitlists, and lower costs for working families.”

The survey, conducted by the University of Wisconsin (UW) Survey Center in partnership with the Institute for Research on Poverty, also found that about one-third of folks using child care reported having difficulty covering the cost of child care expenses. According to DCF, the average annual cost for full-time infant care is $16,175 in center-based programs and $11,479 in family-based programs, equaling 21 percent and 15 percent, respectively, of the median household income in Wisconsin. In total, Wisconsin families pay over $570 million for infants and toddlers under age three and over $1 billion for all preschool-aged children under age five.

“The juggle of child care isn’t a ‘mom thing’ or a ‘dad thing’—it’s a parent thing, a shared tightrope walk between career and caregiving responsibility,” said DCF Secretary Jeff Pertl. “Investing in child care is not just a social good; it’s a smart economic strategy that supports families, nurtures child development, and contributes to thriving communities.”

Gov. Evers has made investing in the state’s child care industry to help fill available child care slots, cut child care wait lists, and lower the cost of care for working families a top priority of his administration. In 2020, the governor launched the Child Care Counts Program using federal relief funding. To date, Child Care Counts has helped more than 5,600 child care providers keep their doors open, ensuring the employment of more than 72,000 child care professionals and allowing providers to continue care for more than 417,000 kids. Without additional state investment, the program will end on June 30, 2025.

According to a recent DCF survey conducted in partnership with UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty and announced by Gov. Evers in April, a quarter of providers across the state said they are likely to close their doors if the Wisconsin State Legislature fails to make critical investments to continue the successful Child Care Counts Program that is set to expire at the end of June. Additionally, if the program ends, costs for infant care are expected to go up, with three-quarters of providers expected to raise weekly tuition rates for care, increasing costs for working families that are already experiencing steep tuition and strained household budgets. Of the 78 percent of providers who reported they will raise tuition for infant care, 21 percent expect to raise weekly rates by at least $25, and 17 percent expect rates to rise by at least $50, adding a whopping $1,300 or $2,600 to families’ household budgets per year, respectively.

The governor’s 2025-27 Executive Budget—the most pro-kid budget in state history—would have included more than $500 million to make child care more affordable and accessible for working families and support child care providers statewide, including providing over $480 million to continue the successful Child Care Counts Program. Instead, during the Year of the Kid, Republican lawmakers on the state’s budget committee voted against Gov. Evers’ plan. This included gutting:

• Over $480 million for the successful Child Care Counts Program, which has been a lifeline for local child care providers, ensuring they can pay their staff and keep their doors open and lights on without raising tuition rates; and
• Efforts to support employer-sponsored child care initiatives to assist employers in addressing their workforce’s child care challenges.

More information on the more than 600 proposals Republican lawmakers voted to strip from the governor’s budget is available here. As Gov. Evers continues to urge Republican lawmakers to join him in supporting real, meaningful investments in the state’s child care industry, he is also urging Wisconsinites to contact their state lawmakers to voice their support for these critical investments. Wisconsinites can find the contact information for their state representative and state senators by visiting: maps.legis.wisconsin.gov.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.