NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Tennessee mother is looking to other states for solutions to ease the financial burden that childcare places on families like hers.
Infant care in Tennessee costs $14,000 on average, which is more than in-state tuition at any public university.
"That's a mortgage of what they're paying for childcare," Isebella Greathouse said. "That's just for one child. Imagine having one, two, three children in daycare, and that's me right now... It's not sustainable, it's not affordable. And we need better solutions."
The single mother reached out to New Mexico officials when that state became the first in the nation to offer universal child care. In November, it started providing no-cost daycare and Pre-K to every family, regardless of income. Greathouse met with the head of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department.
"She had a meeting with me, explained how their model worked, and then gave me some info on how Tennessee could implement something like that," Greathouse said.
New Mexico's program costs $446 million annually and is funded through oil and gas revenue. The initiative began with creating a standalone Early Childhood Education and Care Department focused on expanding childcare access and building the workforce.
Greathouse, who developed a product to help parents run errands, sees the impact of limited early childhood resources in Tennessee's 400,000 children five and under.
"There's children showing up to kindergarten that aren't potty trained, that don't know their numbers, colors, and I think they need that interaction as well," she said.
Finding daycare remains challenging in Tennessee despite increased capacity. The state now has 190,245 licensed daycare slots up 8.7% from 2023, but spots are still hard to come by.
Greathouse believes Tennessee could eventually implement a similar approach.
"I think we're going to move toward that eventually, it's just when? And maybe Tennessee can be ahead of the game," she said.
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