The State of Childcare in Baltimore : Childcare Access and Its Impact on Families and the Workforce

She lived in public housing with her child.
She completed her workforce training.
She secured a job.

And then she couldn’t start working.

Not because the job fell through.
Not because she lacked motivation.
But because once childcare costs were factored in, going to work would have left her with less money than staying home.

The math simply didn’t work.

This story is not unusual in Baltimore. It is structural.

Baltimore does not lack concern about childcare. What it lacks is alignment. Childcare is still treated as a social issue—something to be discussed, subsidized, or deferred. In reality, it is core workforce infrastructure. When childcare fails, employment fails. Economic stability fails. And child development fails with it.

Maryland ranks among the five most expensive states in the nation for center-based childcare. Full-time infant care costs between $15,000 and $17,000 per year, while preschool care averages $12,000 to $14,000 annually. For families earning below the state median income, childcare alone can consume more than 30 percent of household earnings. For families at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, that share can rise to 40 to 60 percent, effectively placing licensed care out of reach.

In Baltimore County, including communities such as Randallstown, the problem is compounded by supply shortages. Large areas are classified as childcare deserts, meaning there are three or more children under the age of five for every licensed childcare slot. For infant care, that ratio can exceed five children per available space. Even families who can afford care often cannot find it.

The economic consequences are significant and measurable. Maryland loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year due to childcare-related absenteeism, employee turnover, and reduced productivity. Nearly one in four Maryland mothers has reduced work hours, declined career advancement, or exited the workforce entirely because reliable childcare was unavailable.

This is not a family issue alone.
It is a workforce issue.
It is a business issue.
And it is an economic stability issue.

If Baltimore is serious about workforce participation, economic mobility, and long-term growth, childcare cannot remain an afterthought. It must be treated as essential infrastructure—planned, funded, and integrated into economic development strategies in the same way as transportation, housing, and job training.

That reality is the focus of an upcoming community briefing, “The State of Childcare in Baltimore: Implications for Workforce Stability and Family Economic Security.” The goal is not merely to highlight the crisis, but to reframe childcare as what it truly is: a prerequisite for a functioning economy.

Until that shift happens, too many parents will continue to do everything right—train, apply, get hired—only to find that the system itself makes working impossible.