Wisconsin families are facing a huge crisis with child care costs, that’s why Democrats are proud to support legislation to provide a child care tax credit.

MADISON – Today, Senator LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) offered the following weekly Democratic radio address on Supporting Families through a Child Care Tax Credit.

The audio file of this week’s address can be found here.

A written transcript of the address is below:

“Hello. I’m State Senator LaTonya Johnson.

“Wisconsin has many great child care providers who offer exceptional services to families in our community. As a former child care provider myself, I have seen first-hand the positive impact having a safe, quality place for children to thrive can have on a child’s life and on a parent’s ability to work.

“But Wisconsin families are facing a huge crisis with child care costs soring. In fact, only about one in five families are able to afford infant care in our state with an average cost of over $11,000 per year. That’s more than one year of tuition at a UW system school.

“For too many families, quality child care isn’t just unaffordable, it’s nearly impossible. Families with an infant and a four-year-old spend nearly a third of their income on child care alone.

“That’s why Wisconsin Democrats are proud to support legislation to provide Wisconsin families with a child care tax credit. Under our proposal, a family with one child would be given an income tax credit of up to $1,050 and a family of four or more would see a tax credit of up to $2,100.

“Through targeted tax relief, we can help support hardworking families while also ensuring our child care providers are able to retain workers dedicated to the development and safety of our children.”