SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — Any working parent will tell you that finding daycare for a child is a full-time job in and of itself.
Paying for it sometimes isn't always cost-effective.
In Skagit County, an initiative is underway to bring more day care centers to the area and encourage businesses to provide child care themselves.
Roxanna Lopez is just happy her days of dealing with day care are over. Her three boys are finally all in school.
It's a welcome relief.
"I tried looking for day care and I was quoted $1,000 per kid! I was like, that's what I'm going to be making working," she says.
Lopez says the day care she finally found was costing her more than half of her monthly income.
She had to quit her corporate job to take care of the kids during the day so her parents could watch them while she worked as a waitress at night.
"My parents are immigrants. They came here from Mexico to give us a better life. All of a sudden, I have to tell them I'm a waitress, and they're like, 'We didn't struggle this much for you to be a waitress,'" Lopez says. "You ask yourself if it's even worth working, but if you don’t work, you don’t put food on the table."
Parents often joke you can either pay to send your kid to day care or pay to send your kid to college.
It turns out that's no joke.
In Washington, the average family pays more than $14,000 a year for child care.
That's $2,000 more than a full year's tuition at the University of Washington.
Since the pandemic began, Skagit County has lost 22% of its child care facilities. That's 580 spaces.
Statewide, the average family spends 36% of its income on day care.
Now, the Center for Retention and Expansion of Child Care is offering COVID grants to start up to 10 new day cares in Skagit County.
Applications are now being accepted. To view the application, click here.
The group believes more slots will increase competition, lowering costs countywide.
The grants are only to jumpstart the day cares. They're expected to be financially self-supporting once children are enrolled.
The group also offers financial incentives for local businesses to provide day care for their employees -- helping businesses grow and retain employees.
"For an employer to be able to offer child care on-site or near the site or even to offer highly discounted slots at another local child care facility would be huge," says the C-RECC's Emily Martens.
Lopez hopes the community will take advantage of these opportunities so fewer parents struggle the way she did.
She says, "I hope that businesses look and see the necessity that child care is because it's a big necessity."