TULSA, Okla. — For many Tulsa parents, the cost of childcare is no longer just another monthly bill. It is shaping decisions once driven by hope or preference: when to have children, whether to change jobs, how long to delay buying a home, and how much help to ask from family simply to stay employed.
Lindsay Jordan said childcare costs even influenced how she and her spouse planned their family.
“We timed pregnancies around pre-K and daycare costs,” Jordan wrote in response to a Black Wall Street Times community callout. “We probably would’ve had more children, but finances changed that.”
Her story mirrors the warning at the center of a new report released last week by the Yes for Tulsa Kids Coalition, a group of educators, nonprofit leaders, parents, and business advocates calling for a $30 million annual public investment in childcare, afterschool programs, and youth development. The coalition argues that Tulsa’s future workforce and long-term economic health may depend on how city leaders respond now.
The report frames childcare not as a private family problem, but as a broader economic issue. When parents cannot secure affordable care, families lose income, employers lose workers, and children lose early opportunities that often shape long-term academic success.
The Cost of Working While Raising Children
According to the coalition’s report, the median annual cost of full-day childcare for one child in Tulsa County reached $12,473 in 2024, requiring families to spend 13.3 percent of median household income for a single child. That is nearly double the federal affordability benchmark of 7 percent, a threshold commonly used to measure whether childcare costs are manageable for working households.
For Tulsa parent households with two young children, the math can become punishing. What begins as a budget challenge can quickly become a career decision, particularly for parents whose wages have not kept pace with housing, groceries, transportation, and healthcare costs.
Karen Tilkin, chief executive officer of CAP Tulsa and a coalition member, said many families are being forced into impossible choices.
“Families are having to make very tough choices about how to care for their children,” Tilkin said in an interview with The Black Wall Street Times. “Often childcare is so much more expensive than they’re able to gain through salary.”
Those pressures can be especially severe in communities where wealth gaps and wage inequality have existed for generations. In parts of North Tulsa and among many Black working families, childcare costs can become another barrier layered onto already narrow margins.
Too Few Seats, Too Much Demand
Even Tulsa parents who can afford the price are not guaranteed access. The report found Tulsa County has only one licensed childcare seat for every 1.5 children under age five, while providers currently have the capacity to serve only 44 percent of the county’s youngest children.
That shortage creates a paradox seen across the country: parents need childcare in order to work, but childcare providers themselves are often struggling to survive.
Angela Graham, who said she previously worked in childcare, described the pressures from inside the system.
“I stayed in daycare jobs because it was the only way I could afford care for my own kids,” Graham wrote. “Even with assistance, the co-pays were high, and the pay in childcare was low.”
Her account highlights one of the industry’s sharpest contradictions: the people helping families stay employed are often underpaid themselves.
Tilkin said many providers face a business model that no longer works. “You can’t charge parents enough to offset the increased costs of operating high-quality childcare,” she said.
Mayor Monroe Nichols Supports the Coalition’s Efforts. But What about Tulsa City Councilors?
Mayor Monroe Nichols said he supports the coalition’s goals, framing them as aligned with the mission of Tulsa’s Office of Children, Youth and Families, which he launched early in his administration to help coordinate efforts aimed at improving outcomes for young people.
“I am supportive of the coalition. Their goals are aligned with our goals through our Office of Children, Youth and Families,” Nichols said. “Last year, I proposed a revenue enhancement that would have invested $17 million into our children and it is my hope this coalition will help demonstrate the community support and necessity for these types of investments to my elected colleagues at City Hall.”
Nichols’ comments refer to a broader revenue proposal he advanced last year that included a city sales tax increase to fund multiple priorities, including public safety, homelessness response, and youth-focused initiatives. According to Nichols, roughly $17 million of that package would have gone toward children and youth investments.
The proposal ultimately was not brought to a vote by the Tulsa City Council, leaving the funding plan unresolved and highlighting the political hurdles attached to new public revenue measures, even as community members increasingly describe childcare, afterschool programming, and youth opportunity as core economic issues.
State Cuts Could Deepen the Crisis
The coalition warns that Oklahoma policy changes may soon intensify an already fragile situation. According to the report, more than 400 childcare centers statewide have already closed, while upcoming changes to the state subsidy system are expected to affect 5,800 families. Beginning in July 2026, income eligibility for childcare assistance is scheduled to fall from 85 percent of state median income to 55 percent.
For many families, losing childcare assistance would not be an inconvenience. It could be destabilizing. Tulsa parents already balancing rent, utilities, groceries, and transportation may be forced to reduce work hours, leave jobs, or rely on patchwork childcare arrangements that change week to week.
Jai Jones said she recently changed jobs to earn enough to pay for private childcare after finding herself ineligible for assistance.
“I had to take a higher-paying position, but now I work Saturdays and need six days of childcare,” Jones wrote. “It takes a village, and I’m grateful for family who helps.”
Her story reflects how many families are not escaping the crisis so much as redistributing its burden onto relatives, grandparents, and support networks.
More Than Childcare: Safety and Opportunity
The coalition says Tulsa’s challenge extends beyond toddlers and daycare centers. Afterschool programs, summer learning opportunities, and youth enrichment efforts also shape whether older children remain engaged in school and connected to safe, structured environments.
The report found that Tulsa youth participating in expanded learning programs attended 2 to 5 more school days per year than peers. It also cited data showing that 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. is the peak time for juvenile crime on school days in Oklahoma, making afterschool hours especially important for prevention and public safety.
For working parents, those programs often function as essential infrastructure. They provide supervision during work hours, access to sports and arts, tutoring, mentorship, and a place for children to belong while adults finish the workday.
Tulsa has already seen what investment can produce. Temporary federal ESSER dollars helped expand learning opportunities after the pandemic, allowing thousands of students to participate in summer and afterschool programs. In 2024, more than 6,000 Tulsa Public Schools students took part in summer learning initiatives. In 2025, that number reportedly dropped to around 1,700 after relief funding expired.
What Kind of City Tulsa Wants to Be
The proposed $30 million annual plan would focus on four priorities: expanding childcare affordability and access; strengthening before-school, afterschool, and summer programs; stabilizing funding for services families already depend on; and building transparent systems to track outcomes.
The coalition has not endorsed a final funding mechanism, but points to Tulsa’s history of backing large civic investments when leaders and voters believe the long-term return is worth the cost.
Tulsa often speaks of growth, talent attraction, and building a stronger future. But those ambitions depend in part on whether ordinary families can afford to stay, work, and raise children here.
“If Tulsa doesn’t invest in its youth, it will affect our economy,” Tilkin said.
For many Tulsa parents already making life decisions around daycare prices, that future is not years away. It is already here.
