A lawmaker introduced new legislation to deal with rising child care costs in Oklahoma.

The measures would help Oklahoma families afford quality care. It’s a major topic for many families in Oklahoma City, which is why State Representative Mickey Dollens is pushing for it to pass.

“For so many Oklahomans, including me, child care expenses are more than a mortgage, more than they pay a rent,” said Dollens, D-Oklahoma City.

This is the case for many families in the Sooner State. A few mothers weighed in on the issue on social media.

Mashai: “I pay more for child care than I hire.”

Ariella: “I couldn’t afford child care with the help of DHS.”

Shanandoah: “I pay $ 1,100 for both. “

And for many, it’s cheaper to stay at home.

Haley: “Child care expenses are the reason I had to quit my job and stay home with my son.”

Amanda: “I tried to put my kids in daycare and ended up quitting my job. It was $ 3,108 a month for my three children.

“After going through this myself and hearing from so many constituents, I started looking for ways to reduce child care costs and make them more affordable for Oklahoma residents,” Dollens said. .

He plans to introduce three bills to help families in Oklahoma City. Dollens wants to raise the income cap to help Oklahoma families get help, adopt a 7% household income cap, and allocate tuition reimbursement to qualified daycares based on enrollment in the place of attendance.

“It’s a crisis, and it needs to be alleviated so hopefully in the future we won’t face a similar problem,” Dollens said.

Proposed bills must go through the legislative process. If approved, they will not be enacted until 2022.