Mother's options for daycare as they pursue post-secondary education
The city of Milwaukee, WIs. is the fourth largest city in the U.S. with single parents. Vince Tabarracci, a pew researcher, discovered that, in Milwaukee, there are 36,742 families with a single parent, 58.9% of the Milwaukee population. In these families, 46.1% are single mothers. Finances, childcare options, work schedule, stress, etc. are some of the top reasons why many single moms drop out of or don't begin college.
Ashley Joy, a 24-year-old single mother, was 22 when she thought of going to college. She has a daughter, Aurora, who was one at the time. Joy has been working full-time at Walmart for over six years, which made her eligible for Walmart’s college option. Their college option can send any eligible full-time worker who has been an employee there for a couple of years to an online college four-year degree plan and they pay the full tuition. After a semester, Joy decided to drop out.
“It’s a struggle to concentrate on online school when I’m at home with Aurora. I can’t afford daycare, but Aurora makes it difficult to focus during my class and homework," she said.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) reports that 43% of single moms expect to drop out of community college. Due to the lack of financial support and child care, most single moms don’t believe that they can succeed. Lindsey Reichlin Cruse, researcher for IWPR, states, “Single mothers in college are doing double and triple duty to make a better life for their families,...but too few have the support needed to juggle the competing time demands of college, parenthood and employment.”
Now, being 24 and her daughter turning three, Joy has begun thinking about going back to school. Due to this, she decided to look online for affordable daycare options. Winnie.com is one of the sites for locating types of daycares, specific age groups, schedules, bilingual options, etc. Each daycare option provides its own pros when joining. These aren’t the only options, in Milwaukee there are 2,717 different daycare locations. The right daycare is different for everyone based on location, affordability, scheduling, finances, etc.
Online college isn’t for everyone but, for Joy, it felt like it was her only choice. Having affordable daycare options can often broaden college options for both online and in-person.
The first option is a public daycare. Smart Start Family Child Care's age range is one month to 11 years and 11 months. The daily hours are 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and have a full-year calendar with 4 different schedule options. The monthly price is $200-$400 and the financial aid additions include free meals and the sliding fee scale. A sliding fee scale, according to Mat-Su Health Services Inc. is “a model for payments administered to patients. The scale is intended for individuals who can't afford care to begin with, including those at a lower income level, and self payers. The sliding scale makes giving you services more affordable.” It gives the mom more time to pay fees, additional days raging from a week to two weeks past the due date.
The second option is a church daycare. Carpenter’s Shop Christian Day Care allows children from ages newborn to 12. This daycare has opening hours that range from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., five different schedule options and a full-year calendar. The monthly price ranges from $176 to $1,340 depending on how many children the parent enrolls, their ages, etc. This daycare provides both “developmentally appropriate” and Christian activities. They also have a program to drive the child to school if needed. This daycare is flexible with single mothers, affordable and is accommodating.
The third option is a private daycare. Wauwatosa daycare at Trinity Woods takes children ranging from six weeks to 11 years. They have a full-year calendar, including summer programs, from 6:30 a.m. to 6: p.m.
This daycare has local school transportation. Although it’s open to the public, this daycare will serve Mount Mary students that are single mothers who live at Trinity Woods. This location will provide single moms at Mount Mary with affordable daycare right on campus.
A bilingual daycare option is Acelero Learning (Teutonia). This daycare is for ages six weeks to six years. This daycare is for low-income families and provides extended financial assistance. The monthly price ranges from $0 to $200 and they provide financial aid. The daily hours are 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The calendar is for the full year and they offer three different schedule options. This daycare also provides classes for the parents, which involves safety workshops and information on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
After looking at these four options, Joy decided on a church daycare. “I’m not religious anymore, but I want my child to have this opportunity. It’s flexible and, once Aurora is old enough, they’ll be able to take her to school since I cannot.” Now, when Joy is ready, she can get back to school knowing her daughter is at a daycare she trusts.
Its possible that for single mothers to complete college they would need more options regarding daycare and other childcare resources.
Joy remains hopeful that she'll get back on the path towards her career. "I want my daughter to be proud of me."
About the Author
Serena Gruenwald
Serena Gruenwald is a senior at Mount Mary University. Her major is Broad Field Language Arts and eventually, her goal is to become a creative writing English teacher.
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