A Tacoma mom’s childcare dilemma: She can’t afford a pay raise

Last month I attended a White House summit on early childcare and learning. I heard influential people from all sides of the political spectrum say they care about young families. They all want to do something. That’s a start.

I was invited not as a policy person or a donor or even as part of my job. I was invited because my story as a Tacoma mother is not unique.

It started two years ago. I was taking an extended maternity leave. I had an infant and a one-year old, and my eldest was about to enter middle school. Then I got the notice – my rent was about to go up the following month.

I had no choice but to return to work. My pay upon reentering work was going to be $16 per hour. Not bad. I had been surviving with a mix of unemployment and self-employment while caring for my babies.

I had two weeks to find day care for an infant and toddler. I began calling the 49 daycares in my area from a list provided by Child Care Aware. Forty nine calls later, no openings.

I called the list again and found one space for my toddler. More calls, and a month later I finally found care for my infant on the other side of town.

I wanted the best for my children because this is such a critical time in their development. However, that focus turned to finding a space, any space. One year later, after time on a waiting list, I was able to place them together.

You would think finding care would be the most difficult part. But it was easy compared to the next roadblock.

As a lower-income family, we received childcare subsidies. My first month of childcare I paid a $15 co-payment. But then I started work. After reporting my new income, our co-payments increased, and our food benefits decreased.

This was OK because my goal was to get off any benefits and do this myself. I worked hard.

Just over six months later I was promoted. My wage increased $2 an hour. I reported this, and again lost benefits and my childcare costs went up. Altogether, I lost $551 per month for a $2 raise.

I was promoted again in October 2018. The benefit cliff that we all hear about? I fell off, head first.

I had one last opportunity for a tiered financial supplement for childcare. The co-pay doubled, but it’s still subsidized. In the next year, or if I make even $1 more per hour, my childcare subsidy will be eliminated.

I cannot afford a raise. I’m an unmarried parent with a partner who helps financially, but that only prevents my situation from being worse.

The middle class of today is not the middle class of yesterday. I feel that I am doing everything right. I’m working hard, getting farther and creating a great foundation for my children. But access to early learning at a reasonable cost is just not there.

Right now, Washington legislators are discussing how to better address this gap. To know that lawmakers from both Washingtons are looking at these issues is heartening. I feel the momentum, but now is the tough part where we all have to agree:

We need more and better access to early child care and learning for Washington children and families, now.

The best way to get this done is to tell our stories. Call or write your local lawmaker and tell them your story.

I’ve shared mine. I hope you’ll share yours too.

Kelly Blucher is a Tacoma mom of three, and manager of Community Engagement and Outreach with Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region.