Children might be a priceless gift, but for many parents the literal financial burden is becoming much heavier as they grapple with rising child care costs. 

According to the Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator, which “measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living,” estimated monthly child care expenses for a two-parent, two-child family in Spokane are $1,159 per month, or $13,910 per year. The calculator doesn’t factor age, and generally speaking, care for younger children is more expensive than for older children.

Considering the $50,432 median household income in Spokane County, that means that for many families, almost 28 percent of their household income is going to child care—well over double the 10 percent affordability threshold established by the Washington state Department of Health and Human Services.

On the national level, the Wall Street Journal reported recently that child care expenses have climbed nearly twice as fast as overall prices since the recession ended in 2009, citing federal Labor Department data. Adding to that financial squeeze have been fast-rising housing costs and minimal wage increases.

The Journal story noted that the dilemma also has drawn special attention from presidential candidates, with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton introducing a proposal to limit child-care costs to 10 percent of a family’s income. That would represent a dramatic cost reduction form many families that easily can spend a fifth of their income or more on nannies, baby sitters, or child-care centers, it said.

In Spokane, even with some savvy financial planning, Tony and Laura Longinotti are expecting a financial pinch with the arrival of their first child, who is due within weeks. Though both are college-educated professionals with careers, they are not immune to the sting of child care costs. 

“We’ll have the luxury of having Tony’s mom available in the beginning,” says Laura, who is an occupational therapist at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, “and we think we have the luxury of me going back to work only part time.” Even part-time care comes with a hefty price tag. 

“We’re looking at options,” says Tony, who is a sales manager with Spokane-based URM Stores Inc. “Do we put our baby in day care two days a week, three days or five? It ranges from about $800 to $1,100, which is a pretty big chunk of change. It is just kind of to the point where we aren’t going to be doing a whole lot of fun stuff anytime soon. We have to make adjustments to our lifestyle.”

They’ve already made one adjustment. “We are trying to see if we can refinance our home, to possibly drop our monthly payment, to help with the bigger picture of this coming expense,” says Laura. “Financially, we need to be smart about it, and we’re trying to prepare so we won’t hit too much of a crunch zone.”

That crunch zone comes not just with the cost of child care, but also the challenges of finding an available spot. 

After several years in Fort Meade, Maryland, Air Force couple J.G. and Jennifer Buzanowski and their three boys returned to Spokane, where they are stationed for a second time at Fairchild Air Force Base. J.G. is superintendent of the 92 Air Refueling Wing public affairs office, while Jennifer is a recently retired master sergeant. Finding affordable child care once again is weighing on their minds. 

“When J.G. and I moved to the Fort Meade, Md., area, we were told a six- to eight-month wait. Michael was my third son, so I knew that infant care was more expensive for that age group,” says Jennifer. “What we were not expecting was to pay just shy of $1,700 a month for his care. This was more than our mortgage payment. We struggled to make ends meet while we waited to get onto base. Once we got on base, his care was only $630 a month.” 

There is a three-month wait for them to get their now 4-year-old son, Michael, into child care on base at Fairchild, meaning they will have to find a more expensive off-base option until a spot opens up. 

A shortage of affordable spots in military base child care centers is especially frustrating for the Buzanowskis and other military families because of the ongoing talk of cutting benefits. 

“Cuts to housing allowances and dual military benefits, and removing the commissary; these affect our bottom line and the disposable income we have for child care,” says Jennifer.  

“You want the people who care for your child to have the best training, to meet all safety and health requirements and have an age-appropriate curriculum that will challenge your child’s brain to grow,” she says. “All of these things cost money; quality care costs money. There is limited opportunity for military members to ‘grow’ their income to afford more expensive off-base services.”

Those off-base services aren’t only more expensive, but also dwindling in supply. 

In Spokane County, the number of child care providers has dropped from 441, with capacity for 13,436 children, in 2008, to 277 providers with capacity for 10,724 children, in June of 2015. That is a 37 percent decrease of available providers. 

Pam Haley, owner of Rainbow Connection Daycare, located downtown at 621 W. Sprague, says, “Part of the shortage of slots is because places have gone out of business because of the expense; it is hard to find employees, and the costs are going up.”                                                                                                                                            

Rainbow Connection raised its prices last year by $100 in each age category. She says those cost increases are to cover expenses. 

“It goes to payroll and taxes, and everything that goes along with that,” she says, adding that her payroll alone can run $30,000 per month, rent for the downtown location is $10,000 a month, and the electrical bill can be over $5,000.

Child care centers, like Rainbow Connection, face added expenses when they must meet state requirements for programs like Early Achievers, from the Washington State Department of Early Learning, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s regulations for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which monitors nutrition standards for the snacks and meals served.

“I try to keep the tuition low,” says Haley. “A lot of the population that I serve is stretched anyway.” 

If a parent is working a job with low pay, as many of her clients are, paying $1,000 for child care can be taxing, and rate hikes are difficult to handle. 

“I totally understand that it is hard for families,” says Haley. Her rates are currently $1,000 per month for infants, $800 for toddlers and prekindergarten, and $700 for school-aged children. 

Both families and child care centers feel the impact when the economy shifts.

“If minimum wage goes up, I don’t think I could do it,” says Haley, referring to the proposed state minimum wage hike to $13.50 by 2020. “I’d easily have to raise expenses by $500 for the infants, which are currently $1,000, just to break even. There’s no way my families could pay that.”

Even without that increase, there are still some families who just can’t make it. 

Julie A. Luzzo, program coordinator at YMCA Children’s Center, says, “There is a gap out there for families. Families that are higher income usually don’t struggle to pay their bill. They are often willing to pay more for high quality, and paying for child care is not an issue.”

He adds, “Families that are low income are able to qualify for assistance from the state of Washington to help pay their child care. The families that struggle the most are the middle-income families. They make too much for state assistance, but can’t afford to pay for a high-quality program.”

The YMCA is able to offer income-based scholarships for families to help them pay for their child care.

“Families in that middle-income bracket usually qualify for a percentage off of their child care bill,” says Luzzo, who adds monthly rates at the YMCA range from $887 per month for infants to $765 for 3- to 5-year-olds in preschool.