Child care isn't cheap in Cook County

Southtown:

Parents in Cook County pay as much for child care as for their mortgage, according to a report due out today by an Illinois child advocacy group.

And the group's president said the government doesn't do enough to help parents, some of whom place their children in someone else's hands only to commute to low-paying jobs.

The report reflects a backward attitude among federal officials, Illinois Action for Children president Maria Whalen said.

"We as a country are Third World in our approach to child care," Whalen said. "Most industrialized countries have the realization that quality child care contributes to the overall health of their communities."

Whalen's group surveyed child care providers and families in different regions of Cook County to determine the cost and availability of child care.

The group studied the same issue in 2000, and Whalen said this year's results showed a 26 percent to 34 percent increase in child care costs. That surpasses the growth of inflation for the same period, which was 21 percent.

Cook County families on average pay between 17 percent and 29 percent of their total household income on child care, the report found.

Even if parents find child care they can afford, that doesn't mean it meets their standards.