In Louisiana, holding down a job often starts with writing a big check. Parents of young children are spending thousands of dollars a year on child care, and those bills are quietly deciding who gets to show up for work and who stays home. A new statewide poll of parents with kids under five finds families paying hundreds each month per child and routinely missing shifts when care falls through, a one-two punch that is squeezing both household budgets and local businesses.
The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children released a full report, "Paying to Work," on Feb. 24 that draws on responses from nearly 2,800 parents and caregivers and was conducted Oct. 15–29, 2025. The findings show most parents rely on child care for roughly 38 hours a week, and more than seven in 10 say they could not work or attend school without dependable care. According to a report by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, the survey was offered in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Costs that add up
Parents in the survey reported paying an average of $870 per child per month, roughly $10,400 a year. For families with two children in care, that price tag creeps up toward $21,000 annually, a number that looks less like a family expense and more like a second mortgage. Those paying entirely out of pocket reported even higher averages, about $930 per child per month, and nearly one-quarter said they were dissatisfied with the cost of care. Biz New Orleans summarized the LPIC breakdown of those figures.
Work disruptions ripple outward
The burden does not stop with the monthly bill. Nearly 70% of households said at least one parent missed work in the past three months because of a child care disruption, and many families described shifting schedules, using unpaid leave or reducing hours to cope. "When caregivers cannot secure reliable, affordable care, they scale back work, reduce spending, or leave jobs altogether," Agenda for Children CEO Jen Roberts said in the reporting. "These findings reinforce the importance of strengthening early childhood systems so families can access care that meets their needs and supports Louisiana's workforce," Barry Carter of the Louisiana Department of Education added. Those stats and quotes were reported by Biz New Orleans.
Policy gaps and the economic toll
LPIC's write-up notes that a majority of families pay for care without subsidy or employer help and that "thousands of eligible children" remain unserved by assistance programs, gaps the group says undercut both household stability and business productivity. The institute recommends higher investment in child care assistance, more realistic subsidy rates and expanded options that fit today’s workforce schedules. The full findings and policy recommendations are available from the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children.
For business leaders and lawmakers in Louisiana, the takeaway is blunt: affordable, reliable child care is not just a family issue, it is also an economic one. The LPIC poll gives state officials a current snapshot to guide decisions on subsidies, reimbursement rates and workforce-friendly care options as legislative debates proceed this year.
