A Boost for Jasmine's Family

Jasmine Davis and her husband, Kiemoni, are raising two toddlers: a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old who love Princess Tiana, Winnie the Pooh, and storytime.

In 2022, while expecting their first child, the couple moved from Baltimore to Atlanta after transferring through their jobs as support specialists at a technology company. 

They were ready to build a life together in a new city. Far from family support, they began researching childcare scholarships to offset costs that were too expensive for their salaries to cover.

The hiGH cost of childcare

In Georgia, the cost of infant or toddler care now exceeds annual in-state tuition at a public college or university. Childcare costs have outpaced inflation, rising 63% from 2007 to 2023, according to the ALICE Essentials Index. The index tracks basic household necessities for financially insecure families, including housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care, and technology.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers childcare "affordable" when families spend less than 7% of their household income on it. Meanwhile, Davis received quotes of more than $2,000 per month per child.

For many families like Jasmine's, the math does not add up — and it is costing parents their careers.

“Families cope by working less, making do with lower-quality and patchwork care alternatives, forgoing other basic needs to pay for childcare, or in some cases dropping out of the labor force altogether,” according to a report by the National Women’s Law Center. 

United Way of Greater Atlanta provides more than 100 BOOST childcare tuition scholarships each year through a partnership with Quality Care for Children. The program helps ease the financial pressure on working families who are forced to choose between basic needs like food, housing, and childcare.

Jasmine applied for a BOOST scholarship, but before receiving a response, she was laid off. Because she frequently missed work to care for her children without affordable childcare options, she lost a role she had held for five years.

Then came the call: Her family was approved for the scholarship, allowing her children to enroll in daycare.

“Had I had it last year, I probably would still have my job,” Jasmine said. “But everything happens for a reason. And I’m just so grateful that we have this scholarship now.”

While the timing was bittersweet, she has been able to explore her creative interests and earn part-time income as a nail technician, a job she held before her corporate role. She is also grateful to offer her children a quality learning environment she once thought was out of reach.

“Had I had it last year, I probably would still have my job. But everything happens for a reason. And I’m just so grateful that we have this scholarship now.

 

Jasmine Davis

A boost for key learning years

After touring several centers, the family selected Elite Children Learning Center, which fosters a love of learning through structured curriculum and attentive care.

Jasmine said she is thankful her children can begin their learning journey in a school setting, making friends and developing social, fine motor, and language skills.

“I just want them to be happy, nurtured, and taken care of," she said. “It takes a village to raise children. Since our village is back home, sending them (to Elite Children Learning Center) means the world to me.”