By Michael Crumb, Senior Staff Writer, Business Record October 26, 2022
“Iowa is No. 1 in the country in two-parent working households, at 75%. There are 519,713 children in Iowa between birth and 12 years old and only 173,481 available spaces in the state’s child care centers, resulting in a shortfall of more than 346,000 spaces. The data also showed that Iowa has lost 28% of its child care businesses over the past five years, and 56% in the past 10 years. The number of child care programs that accept child care assistance has also declined, down 34% in the past five years, and down 60% from 10 years ago.”
