Child care can be a significant burden for some Marathon County families, forcing them into working an extra job, picking up more hours, or sacrificing quality child care. In Wisconsin, single parents pay 48.9% of their income for infant center-based care. Married parents with two children living in poverty pay 90.3% of their household income for center-based child care (Child Care Aware).

The average wage a child care provider earns is inadequate for the critically important work they provide. Child care is labor intensive and requires low teacher to child ratio for quality interactions.  Many child care providers do not receive benefits.  As a result, many choose to leave the field. Outside investment is needed to support our early childhood teachers and our children. 2,191 families and 3,535 children were served by WI Shares in Marathon County in 2018.

“Supporting families with the cost of quality preschool and child care will result in a more efficient and productive American workforce in both the short and long-term." (First Five Years Fund) Wisconsin provides an assistance program called, Wisconsin Shares. This program supports low-income families by subsidizing a portion of the cost of child care based on income level.