U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has a six-point plan that addresses rising childcare costs for the state's working families.

Given today's economy, the incomes earned by working parents are not keeping pace with these costs, she said. According to the senator, it costs $10,400 per year for infant care; $9,100 for toddlers and $8,300 for school age children. This cost is rising an estimated $730 per year for New York parents, she said.

"My plans provide affordable child care for NY parents with quality care for their children," she said in a conference call that covered this concern.

The first point involves expanding the child care tax credit from the current $3,100 per year to $6,000.

Sen. Gillibrand is co-sponsoring a bill with Sen. Barbara Boxer that will provide this tax credit.

The second will provide increased tax credits for employers who provide on-site child care.

Currently, she said, these employers earn a 25 percent credit; this would be increased to 35 percent under legislation she is supporting.

Under the third point, employers would earn additional tax breaks for helping their employees find affordable child care.

This credit, which now stands at 10 percent, would be increased to 20 percent, the senator said and raise the maximum amount allowed from $150,000 to $225,000.

The fourth point focuses on encouraging trained professionals to enter the child care work force.

"There are not enough college trained people who are working in this field and we have to create the next generation of professionals who will look after our children," Sen. Gillibrand said.

To bring this about, she wants to provide a new tax credit of up to $2,000 per year for up to three years for any college graduate who specializes in child care and works a minimum of 1200 hours in a child care facility.

The fifth point involves incentives for businesses to create telecommunications that would allow parents to work from home.

"This would provide the businesses with a $500 tax credit to defray the cost of equipment and, I believe, save the businesses and families money," the senator said.

Her last point offers tax benefits for parents who are enrolled as part-time students.

This would help working parents to advance their careers by providing the same tax benefits are full-time students, she said.

Many parents, she said, are turning to informal unregulated child care that are not licensed and do not always meet safety standards.

"In our very difficult economic time, this is the kind of legislation that can make a difference for our working parents and certainly make a difference in providing more quality, safe and affordable day care and early childhood education," Gillibrand said.