Child care costs a big issue ahead of VP debate – NBC Boston

Kim Guillois and her husband Max moved their family from Houston, Texas to Wakefield, Massachusetts three years ago to be closer to family and have more support for their children.

“We just realized, you know how difficult it was, raising a child during COVID and both of us working full time, without any village,” Guillois told NBC10 Boston on Tuesday.

It’s a solution that vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, proposed last month for families struggling to pay for child care, saying: “Maybe Grandma, Grandpa wants to help out a little bit more, or maybe gives.” “It’s an aunt.” and an uncle who wants to help a little more.

Guillois also acknowledged that this solution doesn’t work for everyone. And political strategist Jacquetta Van Zandt expects Vance to answer for that comment during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate.

“It caused some anger among parents and grandparents,” Van Zandt said. “You will see two very different styles and types of politicians and it is really up to you as a viewer to decide each day which values ​​align with you.”

The debate between vice presidential candidates carries particular weight because it may be the last time the campaigns face off on the debate stage. Follow NBC10 Boston:

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual cost of infant care in Massachusetts is $21,913. For one child, that’s 22.7% of average family income, or 41 weeks of full-time wages for a minimum wage worker.

“To be honest, in this economy, most parents in two-working-parent households rely on child care, and my parents both still work full time and are not yet retired,” Guillois said. “I’m aware that child care here is among the most expensive in the country, and we feel that.”

Guillois, an occupational therapist, took a pay cut and bought a home a short drive from her parents in 2021, but they still pay for full-time child care.

The state legislature recently passed the Early Ed Act in hopes of making child care more accessible and affordable for Massachusetts families.

Families in Middlesex County and Norfolk County, Massachusetts, pay an average price of more than $26,000 annually for child care at a center, according to the Globe.

“This goes a long way to helping families with child care costs. It expands opportunities for more families to receive grants,” said State Senator Jason Lewis, chairman of the panel’s Education Committee.