CNN —If you think the rent is too damn high, wait until you get the bill for child care. And the tab exceeded annual typical mortgage payments in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, according to Child Care Aware. Nationwide, the average annual cost of care rose to $11,582 per child last year, up 3.7% from the prior year. Further exacerbating the shortage was the continued disappearance of licensed child care providers who operate out of their homes. Also, another $15 billion federal pandemic infusion for child care and development block grants, which states use to subsidize child care for working families, will expire this coming September.

---

Persons: that’s, Sandra Bishop, ”, Anne Hedgepeth Organizations: CNN, District of Columbia, of Columbia, Care, Nationwide, US Department of Health, Human Services, Care Aware’s, Century Foundation Locations: Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Massachusetts, Minnesota , Nebraska , Pennsylvania, Rhode Island , Vermont, Wisconsin