A study conducted by the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) and published today, has revealed that state child-care tax credit programs---which partially offset the cost to employers of helping workers pay for childcare---remain virtually unused in twenty of the states where they are available to companies. Available in most states, these programs have had no companies participating in five of the twenty states studied, less than five companies participating in eleven other states in the group, and still only minor participation in the four states where participation was above five companies (eight in OH, twenty in CT, 21 in OR, and 164 in CA). The NWLC has pointed to this data in arguing that a federal child-care tax credit program resembling the state programs and taking effect starting with the 2002 tax cycle, will be ineffective.
See DAVID E. ROSENBAUM, The New York Times, November 18, 2002