A Trump proposal would punish single parents. Other wealthy countries have a different approach
Summary
The Trump administration is considering aid for low-income married couples with one parent at home, using funds that currently support childcare for low-income working parents. Family-policy experts say the eligibility rules are unusually narrow compared with support in other wealthy countries, which often helps single parents and subsidizes childcare more broadly.Key Facts
- The proposal would shift funds from childcare subsidies for low-income working parents to low-income married couples with one earner and one stay-at-home parent.
- The article says details of the proposal are limited.
- University of Utah professor Daniel Carlson estimates that about 20% of U.S. families with children fit the proposed household criteria.
- The article says experts could not identify a European country that limits childcare support or other family benefits to married couples with one full-time stay-at-home parent.
- In a comparison of 15 developed countries, single parents with one child under six received an average of $3,000 to $5,000 a year, with amounts ranging from $1,500 to more than $20,000.
- Ontario provides eligible low- and moderate-income households an additional $147 per month per child, on top of Canada's national child benefit.
- In Sweden, the monthly childcare fee for a family's first child is capped at about $180.
- Sweden ended its non-marital-status-based stay-at-home-parent benefit in 2016 after critics called it a “housewife trap.”
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
