5/5 Building Social Capital At Home - CONCLUSION

Raising a family is a costly endeavor. Child-related expenses such as housing and child care are rising relative to incomes. Workplaces are often unconducive to caregiving needs and family life. The safety net has not been modernized. And the structure of families and communities have weakened, exacerbating challenges to affordability and care. Hispanic families face a unique set of affordability challenges—due to a broken immigration system that impacts work, care, and benefit options.

Fortunately, there are steps that the government, employers, and communities can take to better support those raising the next generation. In some places, this involves removing government barriers. In others, a more modern safety net is needed, such as a paid parental leave system or more regularly distributed child benefit with improved distribution channels to at-risk communities. Employers can take steps to be more inclusive of parents, regardless of employee wage level or occupation, through their benefits and scheduling practices. Local communities and faith-based groups can better come together to support families.

The policies outlined in this paper will help to reduce the affordability pressures facing families to improve child, parent, and societal outcomes.