McClatchy Washington Bureau

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A new report by a national child care advocacy group shows what parents have known for a long time: High-quality child care, especially for babies, is expensive and hard to find.

According to the report, released in late July by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, the price of child care is rising faster than the average rate of inflation. Many families spend more on child care than any other household expense, including housing and food.

"We're at a crisis point for infant care in this country, there's no question about that," said Linda Smith, executive director of the referral agency.

"The system is broken. Costs are high, but it's not because child care workers are highly paid ... In reality, it costs more to produce child care than parents can afford to pay, so the market strategy doesn't work."

In Kansas in 2007, the average cost of one month of care for an infant was $743 — more than the median rent in the state, which was $609.

Kansas is one of 44 states where the average annual price for infant care in a child care center is higher than a year's tuition at a four-year public college.

Read the complete story at kansas.com.