Why Democrats are turning to child care as the next front in fixing the economy

Deshara Bishop works overnights at a warehouse. The 28-year-old single mom took the job to provide for her one- and six-year-old boys. She relies on family, friends and neighbors to be with them at her Raleigh, North Carolina, home while she works — but during the day, she can't afford child care. 

Child care for just her younger son would cost more than $1,000 a month. This isn't unusual — in many states, child care for an infant costs more than in-state college tuition. And according to the Department of Health and Human Services, only one in seven eligible children receive subsidies to help pay for child care.  "Child care is both unaffordable and often inaccessible, and thus is really not serving many families," said Laura Dallas McSorley of the Center for American Progress. "For some families, this could be upwards of one-third of their income, when we know the actual affordable rate to spend on child care would be closer to 7%."