Where the day care ends

Child care deserts are clustered in several areas of East Baton Rouge Parish, while most of the city itself has a supply of licensed providers to serve young children, per a new report by the Center for American Progress.

Why it matters: Child care is not optional for most families. Nearly 70% of children under 6 live in homes where all parents work, making reliable care essential even as its cost strains household budgets.

The details: The Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, mapped where young children live and whether licensed child care providers have enough capacity to serve them. The gist: supply is far too low to meet demand, with greatest scarcity in poor and rural areas.

CAP defines a child care desert as an area with more than three children under age 6 for every available licensed child care slot.

Local, by the numbers: 

• In Louisiana, about half the state is a child care desert, with 29% facing very low supply of providers and 8% having no licensed supply at all.
• In East Baton Rouge Parish, the deserts are scattered, with the greatest concentrations around Gardere, Woodlawn and South Sherwood Forest.

National, by the numbers:

• 46% of U.S. children under 6 now live in child care deserts, down from 51% in 2018.  
• Majority-Hispanic communities have the highest desert rate, averaging 52.2%.
• Majority-Black, non-Hispanic communities average about 35%.
• Remote rural areas are worse off: 70% are deserts.

CAP’s take: Affordability is only part of the crisis. Even if subsidies made care cheaper for families, too little supply would still mean long waitlists and limited options.

A recent effort: The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation and the Foundation for East Baton Rouge Parish School System raised $550,000 for early childhood education. With a state match, $1.1 million will cover early childhood education for 100 children next school year.

The bottom line: Qualified child care supply is too low, partly because of too little funding. Availability of care depends too much on location and income. The families that need the most help—rural families, Hispanic families and many low-wage workers—are often the ones with the fewest nearby choices.