Update 11:15 a.m. May 21:
Organizers announced the event has been postponed until June.
Original article:
If you have a kid in child care in Indiana, odds are you’re paying almost as much money as it costs for a year of in-state tuition at IUPUI.
The annual cost of child care averages to about $9,000 statewide, according to the First Five Years Fund. And anyone who’s obtained child care in Indianapolis can tell you that it’s even more expensive here.
That’s one topic a panel of state government officials and experts will discuss during an event from 5:30-7 p.m. May 22 at 10 East Arts Hub.
Women4Change Indiana, which advocates for Hoosier women, will host the panel. The cost is $15 to attend.
Panelists include Democratic state Rep. Robin Shackleford; Michelle Terry, community engagement specialist at Child Care Answers; and Courtney Penn, director of early childhood and out of school learning at Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
Sam Snideman, vice president of government relations with United Way of Central Indiana, will moderate the discussion.
[‘A huge relief:’ How Martin University’s free child care center supports student parents]
Along with cost, panelists will discuss policies and recommendations for safe and affordable child care.
In Indiana, almost half of all children live in a child care desert, according to Early Learning Indiana. A child care desert is an area where there is no more than one child care seat for every three children.
And Indiana state lawmakers found last year that thousands of people — mostly women — aren’t working because they can’t find accessible and affordable child care.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers economics. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick.
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