Area licensed daycare center directors and state registered in-home caregivers have a mixed reaction to that phenomenon.

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Deb Kroksh, Akron Children's Center director, said she sees families moving away because of lost jobs or parents opting to stay home with children rather than utilize daycare centers.

"I know it's really affecting the license chapter centers," Kroksh said. "We're seeing families that like the quality of daycare but can't afford to pay the rates."

Throughout Iowa there are 1,500 licensed daycare centers, which means they must follow rigorous state standards and are subject to unannounced annual Department of Human Services (DHS) visits.

"I just hear about child care expense. I assume it's all adding up for families. Groceries are more, transportation is more," Kroksh said. "I've had some who have had to make changes that they don't want to make about where they bring their children for child care."

It's not only licensed daycare centers that are feeling the crunch, but also the 5,500 state registered daycare centers.

These are providers that care for more than six children, including their own, at one time. After registering with the state, they are not subject to periodic DHS site checks.

Amanda Heitritter and her mom Brenda Sturgeon recently started their registered day care, Mommy & Me, in Le Mars, and it's been rough going, Heitritter said.

"When I did day care in Remsen (in 2005), it seemed a whole lot easier," she said. "Everything was not quite so expensive."

She agreed with Kroksh that many parents are choosing to stay home with children because in some cases that is less expensive when it comes to external costs like transportation to and from work. Others can only find part-time or low paying jobs, which means less income.

"I'm a CNA and you just can't find real good work full time," Heitritter said. "So that's why I decided to go back to the day care."

On the flip side of the issue, some daycare providers don't see many changes in regards to the economy and child care.

Lisa Freking, director of Guardian Angel Preschool and Daycare, in Le Mars, said the center has not seen any changes with the families it serves.

"It seems that parents do talk more about ways that they can begin to cut out things in their budgets," Freking said. "What we've seen in our families is daycare is very important to them so they are looking for other ways to cut back."

Heather Hinds, Le Mars Day Care's assistant director, also said the center hasn't seen major changes but there have been some.

"People are cutting back and are not having their kid in day care as much," Hinds said.

If parents or guardians are having difficulty paying for child care for children under age 13, there is help available through the state DHS.

Parents, whose gross monthly income is below 145 percent of the poverty level could qualify. To be eligible they must be working 28 hours or more a week or be in school full time and a family of four can earn no more than $29,952 in gross annual income, according to the DHS website www.dhs.iowa.gov.

Roger Munns, Iowa's DHS public information officer, said the economy may affect the way people choose to care for their children, but the future of day care is unknown.

"It's a volatile time, we're just not sure which way the trend is going to go," Munns said.