By Justin Moyer

Monday, September 20, 2010


Rasheeda Wilson has seven children living in her home in Southeast Washington. She's got her own kids -- Rashed, 16, Wade, 14, and Atyra, 12. Then she has her sister's kids -- Diamond, 5, Miracle, 4, Heaven, 3, and Angel, 2 -- hers to care for because their mother, Wilson says, is addicted to drugs. Add five dogs and a cat and that's 13 living creatures on Brothers Place SE that depend on Wilson -- or, as she puts it, "a lot of heartbeats."


Still, Wilson is ready for more. For many months, she's wanted to open an in-home day care. The main obstacle, she says, is the D.C. government.


Wilson is driven by her desire to be at home for her children. Good parenting aside, day care is a potentially lucrative career. According to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, the District ranks behind only Massachusetts when it comes to the cost of child care. D.C. parents pay an average of $917 a month -- more than $11,000 a year -- to have other people watch their kids.