Parents in Louisiana have a hard time balancing work and childcare.  Also water is wet and Shreveport roads suck.  Now that the obvious is out of the way, let's talk about how much parents are stressing over this all-too-common issue.

A new study, comissioned by the Louisiana Department of Social Services, Office of Family Support under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Adren Wilson and Deputy Assistant Secretary Mary Joseph - focuses more on the availability of quality childcare and how it effects the hard-working parents and employers.

As a parent, I know that this has been a struggle in our household.  Over the years, my wife Tracy and I have debated whether or not her going back to work would just end up paying for daycare.  My friends and co-workers have fallen pretty equally on both sides of that argument.  The findings of this new study show that the issue is much harder to deal with than many may have previously thought.  For example:

  • Parents who have to quit their jobs and miss work because of child care issues (unable to afford, lack of access to quality daycare, unreliable child care providers, etc.) causes Louisiana's economy to lose $1.1 billion annually. This adds up to $84 million annually in missed tax revenue.
  • Women and single parents are more likely to be affected -14.6 percent of women said they have quit their jobs because of child care issues, while only 1.5 percent of men did.

This study is full of eye opening stats, but this much is clear - it's not easy to juggle finances and parenting in Louisiana.  Check out more here.

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