Both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees are shining a light on burdensome child care costs as many families across the U.S. struggle to afford help. 

Child care costs are among families’ biggest expenses, eating up more than a quarter of an average household’s total income in some states across the U.S. The typical family spends $700 a month on child care, according to Bank of America data.  In some states like New York, child care costs have soared 46% since 2019 and now average nearly $20,000 a year, according to a new report from The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank. 

Here’s what Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are saying about how they plan to help families deal with surging child care costs.

Capping costs

Harris has proposed capping working families’ child care costs at no more than 7% of their incomes, a threshold that was first proposed as part of President Biden’s 2021 Build Back Better package. Harris first announced the goal during a live interview at an interview in Philadelphia with members of the National Association of Black Journalists.

“Harris’ plan proposing to cap the amount of child care paid to 7% of household income is terrific. It’s a real game-changer,” Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First Pennsylvania, a local advocacy group for quality child care. “For many families, the cost of child care is more than the cost of college and with two kids, their ability to go to work is highly limited.”

Still, Harris hasn’t specified how such a policy would be funded and implemented. For example, that could involve offering parents and caregivers a refundable tax credit, or the federal government taking a large role in paying for child care.

“Without reservation, bright-line policies like a 7% cap are very simple and clean,” Cooper added. “Obviously, any policy is complicated to implement, but that’s a simple, smart way to approach the challenge.”

The National Women’s Law Center Action Fund has given its stamp of approval to Harris’ proposal. 

“The Vice President’s plan to cap child care costs at 7% of income for working families would be transformative, providing much-needed relief to those struggling with the soaring expenses of care,” the organization said in a statement.

Child Tax Credit

Harris’ plan to curb costs for families also introduces a $6,000 Child Tax Credit (CTC) for parents of a newborn so families can buy essentials like a crib, car seat and clothing without having to forego other necessities. 

Additionally, she has proposed restoring a more generous CTC, which was enhanced during the pandemic, for all other eligible families. The expanded benefit would give $3,600 to families with children under six years old and $3,000 to those with kids over that age.

Although child care experts favor an expanded CTC, they note that such a policy only addresses one part of the problem — costs— while ignoring other the broader issues affecting child care. Decades of underinvestment in the industry have led to low wages for caregivers and high costs for parents, resulting in a system that squeezes both child care providers and families seeking care. Many families either can’t find or afford the care they need. 

“I am loving the fact that we are now having a robust discussion about the Child Tax Credit, and it seems very clear both sides are interested in bringing it back. It’s very encouraging that we have competing proposals and the number is going up and up,” Keri Rodrigues, co-founder of the National Parents Union, a group that advocates for policies that support parents, told CBS MoneyWatch. “But I don’t think ether campaign has put together a robust proposal that would really solve it.”

The Trump campaign has yet to offer a formal plan to address child care costs, although Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, has proposed boosting the Child Tax Credit to $5,000 per child.  

“I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child,” Vance said told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.” “President Trump has been on the record for a long time supporting a bigger child tax credit, and I think you want it to apply to all American families.” 

Trump himself, when asked about child care at the Economic Club of New York earlier this month, said “it’s something you have to have in this country,” 

“You have to have it,” he repeated of the importance of child care, noting that raising taxes on foreign imports would “take care” of driving down costs for families. 

Leaning on family

Vance also suggested in a September 4 interview at an Arizona church that parents should lean on family members for child care support.

“Language from Vance has referenced family, friend and neighbor care, and we recognize that home-based care through family and friends can be an extremely important part of the child care system. But asking folks to do highly skilled, difficult work without any pay is not beneficial to those families,” Hailey Gibbs, associate director of Early Childhood Policy at American Progress, told CBS MoneyWatch. 

Rodrigues, of National Parents Union, is even more blunt. 

“The idea that somehow all of this is going to be solved by going to grandma and grandpa or by handing your kids off to an auntie who somehow herself doesn’t have to work a job, and that’s going to get us out of the child care crisis, is utterly preposterous on its face,” she said. 

More broadly, experts say it is equally important to improve access to high-quality child care. That means investing in the child care workforce by lowering barriers to entry and boosting wages. 

Currently, child care professionals working in a center earn an average of $30,360 a year, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an existing shortage of child care workers by leading them to exit the industry in favor of higher-paid work. 

“We need investments in the child care system that help build supply, and that invest in the early educator workforce,” Gibbs said. “We need a system where these educators are well-compensated and incentivized enter the field, and are equipped to provide high quality care in the classroom.”