Minnesota Has Third Highest Child-Care Costs in Country

From the St. Paul Ledger, Capitol Report

"Child-care costs in Minnesota are the third highest in the nation based on the price of child care as a percentage of the state median income for a two-parent family, according to a new report from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).

And single parents here spend almost half their monthly income on day care, the report said.

In every region of the country, according to the report, the average monthly child-care fees for an infant in 2008 were higher than the average amount families spent on food each month. Also, in every state, monthly child-care fees for two children at any age exceeded the median cost of rent and were nearly as high – or higher than – the average monthly mortgage payment."

Read the rest here.

Did you know?

85 percent of all youth charged in juvenile courts nationwide have reading difficulties, and at least 40 percent of those who should be in high school read below a fourth-grade level.

Most recently available data from 2004, Report on Literacy Programs

Did You Know?

The average high school dropout earns $7,000 less annually than the average high school graduate (or equivalent). - U.S.Census

Being able to read at grade level by the end of third grade is the strongest predictor of whether or not your child will graduate from high school on time, or at all. Read to your child every day, from birth!