Brown County’s childcare crisis: When working parents can’t afford to work

BROWN COUNTY – As childcare costs rise nationwide, families in Green Bay are increasingly struggling to keep up, forcing many to make difficult decisions about work and care.

In Brown County, the average cost for an infant to attend a childcare program in 2025 is $305.68 a week, according to data from Family & Childcare Resources of N.E.W. (FCRNEW).

“[The cost] is up considerably from 2024. Across the board in our seven county service areas it has gone up quite a bit,” said FCRNEW Director of Outreach and Communications Bob Pekol.

Pekol said that staffing shortages are a driving force behind the rising prices.

“The biggest issue with the childcare crisis is staffing,” he added. “That can get further whittled down to the fact that child care providers are not paid a lot. The average wage in our area is about $12.75 an hour.”

He added that the work is demanding, and the low pay can lead to a high turnover rate.

“For programs to stay open, they have to pay their staff more to get them to stay… Those costs then get put on parents to make up the difference,” said Pekol. “So it’s tough for childcare programs because they’re trying to find staff and they’re trying to keep the staff that they have.”

These rising costs can leave families trapped in a never-ending loop — in order to work, they need childcare, but in order to afford childcare they need to work.

“It’s at the point for some families, especially families that are lower income, that they can’t even afford childcare. So their option is to stay home and not work,” said Pekol. “Another option we see is that grandparents end up retiring early so they can stay home and watch the grandkids. So not only are you losing workers now, you’re also losing people with a higher level of experience because they’re retiring early.”

FCRNEW offers several resources to help families out of this cycle, including free childcare referrals and a scholarship program providing childcare subsidies to Brown County families.

For a referral, parents can call the FCRNEW office where a staff member will help them figure out the best childcare option based on location and price.

“We also have some funding assistance through United Way for families in Brown County. We have a scholarship program right now where families can contact our office, fill out a form and then they can receive 12 weeks of childcare subsidies from us,” said Pekol. “That’s going to run for the next couple of months, so we’re looking for families to use that money and help them stay in the workforce.”

Having access to quality childcare is essential for children and families, and Pekol shared that it can have a major impact on a child’s later life.

“Children are less likely to face incarceration if they have high quality interactions with childcare programs, and if they don’t have that, that puts them at risk,” he said. “It’s very important that childcare is addressed within our community.”

For more information, visit www.fcrnew.org/parents.