Victims of a failing system or child abusers? Couple leaves young children alone on mall bench so they can work

What happens when the price of child care gets too high?

Children are amazing miracles we love fiercely - but caring for them and paying the bills isn't always easy. For many Americans, the price of child care is too steep, forcing them to get creative.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Jean Seide and his wife Bilaine Seint-Just are in their 30's. They have three children together, an 8-year-old, six-year-old and 1-month-old baby.

According to the Global Grind, the two were scheduled to work janitorial shifts at the Eastview Mall in Victor, New York.

Unable to pay the high cost of child care, the couple decided to bring their children to the mall and stock them with everything they might require.

According to Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero, Seide stated he was attempting to take care of the children during his shift and was certain they had food and a cell phone so they could call him if they needed anything.

The couple then left their children on a bench within the mall and got to work.

Employees of the store Lord & Taylor noticed the children were on the bench outside their store for several hours. They finally called authorities at about 8pm on Monday, March 27.

Authorities arrived and Seide reported he had done his best while Seint-Just tearfully claimed she loved her children and takes care of them.

The case is ongoing, leaving the Sheriff unable to release more information but it is clear the couple was not attempting to hurt their children by leaving them unattended.

None of the children were hurt but each parent was taken into custody. When they were released, each received an appearance ticket for court and is expected back in court this April.

Sheriff Povero stated: "The criminal justice system may move in a direction to, again, keep those parents gainfully employed, but at the same time establish with them an understanding that a sound childcare system is certainly necessary during employment. Hopefully they learn from this and strengthen as a family unit."

His statement, particularly the final sentence, is one of many that have sparked social outcry.

The price of childcare varies from state to state and even city to city, depending on what type of childcare is used, a child's age, the number of hours required for each child to be cared for and where one lives.

The National Association of Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies reported the average cost of center-based daycare in the United States is $11,666 annually, or about $972 each month. They clarified prices range from $3,582 to $18,773 each year depending on location and hours required but the most expensive states, which cost over $10,000 annually for a single baby or toddler in daycare, are California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Washington and Wisconsin.

For preschoolers, daycare averages $8,800 annually. Meanwhile, the Census Bureau reported 32 percent of American households earn less than $35,000 a year.

Those living at or beneath the poverty level are an estimated 43 million people, who have an annual income of $24,257 for a family of four or $18,871 for a family of three.

For nearly 50 percent of Americans, the price of childcare can make up to one-third of their annual income.

Those with extended families are often forced to rely on their help for reliable childcare - but what about households without family to help babysit?

The Dallas-based ChildCareGroup is one of many organizations working to help lower-income households provide "effective early childhood development and education services."

The group explains it has increased its diversity for revenue sources by balancing public and private support to "establish and maintain an effective, efficient, and financially sound infrastructure."

Thousands of Texas families are on the wait list for help with child care, so what happens to them?

Unfortunately for these families, they must resort to choosing between working, with the majority of the second parent's paycheck going directly to childcare, or having one parent stay home with the children.

It is a difficult situation and, even with the various childcare assistance programs available to U.S. citizens, many still find themselves ineligible for the extra help.

So what will happen to them? What has happened to families for years - parents will make one of two difficult decisions: refrain from taking their children to trusted and educational childcare facilities, or take them and spend a large portion of their income to do so, leaving families to live at or below the poverty line without the benefits allotted to those in that financial position.

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