10/19/23

A new report from the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission finds that most working families in the commonwealth don’t have the means to pay for childcare.
In the study, which was just released on Monday, JLARC said that 85 percent of families with a new baby can’t afford childcare services. That figure is slightly lower for families with toddlers, at 82 percent.
Nearly three out of four families with pre-school aged children have been priced out.
According to the report, the Valley region – which JLARC considers from Augusta to Frederick counties and as far east as Louisa County – needs an additional 30-thousand childcare slots to meet demand.