WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The CBS12 News I-Team continues its investigation into the high cost of child care after finding that Martin County leads the state in child care fees — and Palm Beach County is close behind, making it the third most expensive county in Florida.

Across the country, child care costs have risen twice as fast as inflation, leaving many families paying more for daycare than they do for their mortgage.

For low-income families, there are resources to help reduce the cost of child care. The Early Learning Coalition offers school readiness scholarships and covers almost all of the cost of school tuition.

ELC in Palm Beach County currently supports approximately 14,000 children with these scholarships. Parents must make a co-payment to the provider and must either be working or in school to qualify.

The income eligibility is at or below 150% of the federal poverty line, which is as follows:

• Family of 2: $30,660 or less
• Family of 3: $38,730 or less
• Family of 4: $46,800 or less
• Family of 5: $54,870 or less

Families have flexibility of up to 200% if their income increases during the term of the scholarship.

When a parent applies for the ELC scholarship, they may be on a waiting list for a period of time. According to Erin Gallagher, vice president of communications and programming, there are currently about 1,500 families on the ELC Palm Beach County waiting list.

“Our goal is that no family has to wait,” Gallagher said. “We want to help anyone who needs it.”

Some parents tell the I-Team they were on the waiting list for months.

Kishna Scott said it took her nearly a year to get one of the school readiness scholarships for her first child.

“The support is very important,” Scott said. “It’s like a load-bearing aid.”

While on the waiting list, Scott said she had to work three jobs to afford child care. “My little one couldn’t see me as much,” she said.

For families just above the low-income threshold, the cost of daycare is still prohibitive but they are not eligible for financial assistance. A new approach is needed here.

Politicians at state and federal level are considering proposals such as expanding the child tax allowance – but the legislation is not yet sufficient.

This year, Florida passed a new tax credit law that encourages employers to get involved in addressing child care costs. The law allows employers to claim tax credits of up to $3,600 per year when they pay child care costs for their employees.

There is an incentive for companies to open their own on-site daycare centers. Florida companies can now claim a SMS credit for up to 50 percent of startup costs when operating a daycare center for employees. Then the employer can receive a $300 credit per month for each child enrolled.

Bright Horizons is a nationwide child care company that operates community centers and on-site daycare centers for companies across the country.

Priya Krishnan, chief digital and transformation officer at Bright Horizons, told the I-Team they have 300 clients with local daycare centers, 12 of which are in Florida, including Hertz, Moffit Cancer Center, Tampa General Hospital and the University of Miami.

Krishnan said these employers have hired Bright Horizons to convert their premises into a daycare center and manage it on their behalf. A big benefit for these companies is employee retention.

“What ends up happening is that you have complete peace of mind (when you drop your child off at the company daycare),” Krishnan said. “You don’t want to quit the employer just because your child comes to work with you.”

She said daycare fees are ultimately cheaper for parents because operating costs are lower. “If employers provide us with the space for free, we don’t have to charge parents rent,” Krishnan said. “That’s between 30 and 50 percent lower than what they would pay at our community centers.”