Earlier in the semester, the second systematic injustice that I chose to write about was the childcare system that currently exists in the United States and how the system in itself may actually be, like many things in government have been prior, an agent of reinforcement for systematic racism. According to the Center for American Progress the average cost for infant childcare in the United States ranges from around $800/month to almost $1200/month. This number may be perceived very differently by many individuals as many people come from a different socio-economic background — so to put this number in perspective – this is about 18% of the average family income in the United States. To also give greater perspective, the federal government even defines “affordable” childcare as costing no more than 7% of a family’s income, an average which cannot be found in any state.
With this increased perspective, it is now important to look at the current system of childcare in the United States in relation to other systems and ways of life that take place every day. The first subject that may come to mind is the struggle that is faced by low-income families in affording this childcare. Note how I have underlined the word “family” when discussing family income, this is because family income is often averaged as the combined income of two working adults. While this should not be the case for many reasons, notably single-parent households, this also shows how difficult it can be for families who do have two working parents and yet are still considered low-income. Thus, for low-income families, this often means that one parent will have to stay home to care for the child while the other parent continues to work, which then has an impact of lowering the overall family income and further effecting the lifestyle and resources of those individuals and the child they are now caring for. Many statistics, such as an analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health, show that children from impoverished families, such as the ones detailed here who can only have one working adult while the other cares for the child, are more than FOUR TIMES as likely to face “residential instability” (Theodos et. al) than children who were not considered low-income. This residential instability can be seen in moving from various apartment buildings, having to sell a house, children having to live with a relative for a while, and even in children being placed into foster care because of their parents financial inability to provide what is considered the “minimum” environmental standards for their child.
With all of these factors at play, it causes a great amount of strain and stress on the child in their potential for success as they become an adult. Such as some children having to drop out of school to work as teenagers, not receiving a quality public education and thus much less likely to get into a good college and even if so, they may likely need a scholarship to be able to afford it and this entire cycle is set to repeat itself throughout the generations such as when this child becomes an adult and has their own child, they may likely still be stuck in the system of poverty in which they were raised in. It is also important to note the increased struggle for families when the parents are both immigrants, as it becomes much less likely that any action they take could lead them out of this system of poverty they live in.
Study on Family Residential Instability and it’s Impact on Youth
While many other countries recognize the importance of access to childcare for all families, the approach taken in the United States could arguably be a moderate way of systematically controlling the rate of population growth in poor, often marginalized groups of people. With the understanding that low-income families have far less access to childcare than their economically stable or wealthy counterparts, we must now look at who we often see composing this impoverished class. One does not have to look hard to see that it is often racial minorities who are born into and systematically withheld into poverty through the means detailed above of lack of access to higher education, less public-school funding, along with many other social and economic aspects of society that often go overlooked when doing such studies as well. I mentioned earlier in this reflection the struggle that immigrant families have, and it is worth noting the image that may often come to mind when we hear the word “immigrant.” Society, especially in recent years, has conditioned us to associate the word “immigrant” with brown skin or Hispanic origin. Immigrants who are of white or European decent do not face these economic struggles as often. We must also think about the various people of color who have lived in our society for generations and find themselves so deeply connected to an impoverished lifestyle through these generations that may grow up as children being told and/or believing that they could never hope to be any more successful than that.
Thus in conclusion, through all of these facets of life that have been described throughout this reflection, I believe there is more than enough support to show that the childcare system in the United States, in its design and functioning, an agent of systematic racism and oppression in our society today, reflecting the increased struggles of those in society before us. By decreasing access to quality childcare, and childcare in general, for low-income families, without providing alternative options such as laws or programs designed to relieve families of much of this financial burden, the system that governs our nation’s ways shows how it is rooted many racist ideals that have existed for hundreds of years. While the childcare system, through its interactions with other systems taking place in our daily lives, seeks to control the populations of minority groups through social and economic means as well as ensure these populations are born-into and remain consistently in an impoverished, “working-class” livelihood; and because of this, the childcare system in the United States, in itself, acts as an agent of systematic racism.
I have a few cousins who are adopted. Two of them are from minority races. And because of that I’ve seen how messed up the foster care system is. But I never thought about the child care system being the same way. Your post was very informative and showed it was well researched. I really liked it. You did a good job in my opinion.
This is a really interesting topic, and I would not have thought to research it myself. I feel like the childcare system in the United States is often overlooked in terms of its issues just because people our age don’t really think much about it. Education from elementary school to college is always discussed, however, I have not noticed childcare being talked about much. I think this post is really good, and I like how you made some suggestions on what could/should be done in the second to last paragraph. Good post.
Thank you for your thorough research and presentation on this topic. If you take all these factors and put them through the lens of the pandemic, I would think they only get worse. My husband and I have opted not to have children, and one of the reasons is absolutely the cost of quality child care. Not only what we would theoretically put our children into – but that quality child care is not available to all. Again – great post! Thanks for the read!