As child care costs rise faster than wages, new polling indicates a bipartisan majority of Nevadans support implementing policies to assist families with those expenses.

The survey, conducted in Spanish and English by the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, shows that a majority of Democrats and Republicans in Nevada support increasing child tax credits, expanding free universal preschool programs, subsidizing child care for low and middle-income families and enacting a national 12-week paid family and medical leave program.

Steven Kull, a political psychologist at the University of Maryland and director of the Program for Public Consultation, said in an interview that the cost of child care is at the forefront for many Americans because of the increased costs of living and raising children, which contributes to high levels of support for policies designed to assist families. 

Families also have a comparison point with COVID, he said, noting that there was more financial support for families during the pandemic that led to reduced child poverty, and now that those policies have ended, they are feeling the financial strain.

“It’s overall contributed to some support for the idea that the federal government should mitigate the pressures that that families feel,” Kull said, adding that concern about declining birth rates and populations could also be contributing to broader support for policies helping families.

Nationally, rising child care costs have become a presidential campaign issue, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris highlighting proposals to expand the federal child tax credit and criticizing her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, on his lack of specifics on policies to help families.

The Nevada Independent reached out via email to each major party candidate running for congressional office about their stance on increasing child tax credits, funding free universal preschool programs, subsidizing child care for low-and middle-income families and enacting a national 12-week paid family and medical leave program. As of Wednesday morning, two of the campaigns responded, and the candidates' campaign websites did not indicate their stances.

A media representative for Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) confirmed that Lee supports increasing child tax credits and would be following up on the other questions. A representative for Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) said she supports all the listed policies.

The high cost of child care is particularly acute in Nevada — the Silver State has the highest child care expenses relative to income of any other state, with families spending an average of about 32 percent of their income on care, according to a March report from the personal finance site Lending Tree.

The University of Maryland poll is one of many issue-focused polls the group is conducting in swing states ahead of the 2024 general election. Across all six swing states surveyed, majorities of Republicans and Democrats favor federal actions to help families, including higher child tax credits, increased tax credits for parents of newborns and federal funding to provide free preschool.

In Nevada, 601 adults were polled in online opt-in surveys from Aug. 17-29. The survey, which focused on policies proposed in or moving through the House and Senate, had a margin of error of 4.5 percent.

In open-ended answers, respondents wrote about the effects of skyrocketing child care costs, out-of-reach preschool education expenses and the need to support families.

“It's so expensive to raise a child/children that help (in the form of child tax credits) goes a long way,” wrote one respondent. “In some families it can mean the world at the right moment.”

Bipartisan majority support for increasing child tax credits

More than 73 percent of Nevada survey respondents indicated that they would support raising the child tax credit to $3,600 and making it fully refundable for all parents, in line with pandemic-era child tax credits that expired in 2022. 

In August, the issue again took center stage as the U.S. Senate voted on a long-stalled package to expand federal child tax credits. Both of Nevada’s Democratic senators voted to pass it, but, ultimately, Senate Republicans killed the proposal. The package — supported by all four Nevada representatives — had passed the House in February.

The legislation would have expanded the annual child tax credit from $1,600 to $2,000 per child, made the credit refundable for the previous two tax years and offered the credit to families whose total tax bill was less than the credit amount.

Poll respondents were informed in advance that the $3,600 pandemic-era child tax credit reduced federal revenues and decreased child poverty by about a third, and would likely have the same effects if reinstated. 

Broken out by political party, 64 percent of Republicans and 82 percent of Democrats in Nevada who were surveyed said they support the $3,600 credit.

Though support for increasing child tax credits is often seen as a Democratic issue, Kull said the pandemic-era child tax credits may have created a new baseline of expectations for government support, and Republicans may be motivated to support it as a way to address declining birth rates.

“There may be a shift going on so that there's less aversion to the idea that the federal government will be playing an active role in it,” he said. “It seems that the concerns related to families in general, as well as the cost of living broadly, that those are strong enough to offset some of the reservations about the federal government.”

In open-ended responses, those surveyed noted the high costs of raising children and said tax credits can help families afford basic necessities and child care.

“Many times I have received child tax credits and it literally put food on my children’s plates,” one respondent wrote. “And I am a full time healthcare worker with a good wage.”

Additionally, 63 percent of those surveyed, including 73 percent of Democrats, said they would support providing a $6,000 tax credit to children younger than 1. Republicans were more divided on the issue, with 53 percent indicating support and 47 percent in opposition.

“A $6,000 tax credit for parents with infants would provide significant financial relief during a critical time,” another respondent said. 

Poll shows support for federal universal preschool funding

Eighty percent of respondents in Nevada favored increased funding for universal preschool, which has been shown to provide long-term benefits for children, ranging from increased social-emotional skills to improved health outlooks. Nevada has a limited state pre-K program, with enrollment only available to families under 200 percent of the poverty level.

Kull described the push for universal preschool funding as a “significant social shift” that shows support for early childhood education.

As of 2023, only 7 percent of 4-year-olds in Nevada are enrolled in state-funded pre-K — one of the lowest levels in the county, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. 

Expanded funding for universal preschool was one of the top priorities in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Plan, but the proposal was eventually killed in the Senate. Only a handful of states offer universal pre-K.

Support for universal preschool cuts across party lines in all swing states, according to the survey. That includes Nevada, where 94 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans polled support increased pre-K funding

Specifically, the survey asked respondents if they’d support a proposal to give $25 billion to cities or states that want it, to help the entity create or expand preschool programs. The survey provided respondents with arguments for and against the proposal.

“I don’t see why investing $25 billion in early education would ever be a bad thing,” one respondent said.

Subsidizing child care for low and middle-income families is popular

A bipartisan majority of Nevada respondents, 77 percent, said they would support a proposal to help low and middle-income families cover the cost of child care so that they spend no more than 7 percent of their income on those types of services.

The proposal defines low-income families as those making less than $65,000 and middle-income families as those making between $65,000 and about $130,000. Higher-income families would not have their costs covered.

In Nevada, about 68 percent of Republicans and 85 percent of Democrats said they would support the policy. Nationally, 72 percent of respondents indicated they were in favor, including majorities of Republicans (61 percent) and Democrats (85 percent).

Broad support for paid family and medical leave for all workers

Like most other states, Nevada has no paid family or medical leave law.

But about 70 percent of Nevadans polled said they were in favor of creating a federal paid medical and/or family leave program that would compensate employees two-thirds of their wages for 12 weeks of leave. 

Currently, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only protects a subset of qualified workers from losing their jobs if they take leave without pay. Workers in companies with less than 50 employees, part-time workers and new employees do not qualify.

For years, the Legislature has tried and failed to create state leave laws.

In 2023, lawmakers began requiring companies receiving tax breaks from the state to provide paid family/medical leave. Lawmakers also passed a paid sick leave bill in 2019.

The paid family/medical leave proposal is overwhelmingly supported by Nevada Democrats (82 percent in favor), while only a small majority of state Republicans supported the policy (52 percent). Support in other swing states also hovers around 70 percent. 

This story was updated on 9/18/2024 at 8:35 a.m. to include responses from Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV).