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Clinton's pledge to cap child care costs at 10% of income would be a game-changer

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Author: 
Zarya, Valentina
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Article
Publication Date: 
11 May 2016
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In most of the U.S., child care costs more than rent.

Hillary Clinton wants working families to know she hears them.

On Tuesday, the Democratic frontrunner made a pledge on the campaign trail to cap families’ child care expenses to 10% of income.

“I don’t think any family should have to pay more than 10% of their income for child care,” Clinton said during an appearance at a social services center in Lexington, Kentucky, reports Huffington Post. “That ought to be just a rule and you ought to get help if you’re getting close to that or going above that,” she said.

In most parts of the U.S., families spend more on childcare than they do on rent. The problem is exacerbated for families that live in poverty: According to research by the Census Bureau, these families spent 30% of their incomes on childcare in 2011—four times the percentage spent by wealthier families.

Clinton plans to use a combination of subsidized child care and tax credits to cut the cost of care, reports HuffPost, though the exact details of the initiative are still under wraps.

In addition to the child care cap, Clinton pledges to boost child care workers’ wages, provide home visiting services to more than 2 million parents and children in the next 10 years, and double funding for the Early Head Start–Child Care partnership program, according to her website.

-reprinted from Fortune

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