From Moms Rising (https://www.momsrising.org/):
Summer is here, and we need to put the heat on Congress to take action on child care NOW!
We’ve been reaching out to you on child care because we hear from families, especially moms, every day about how they are unable to get back to work because their child care centers have shut down, or they don’t have access to child care where they live, OR if they have access to child care, then they can’t afford it.
We want to THANK YOU for each and every action you have taken so far to continue to let our elected representatives know that families need HELP. And with you by our side, we are not backing down. We need to keep up the drumbeat to get comprehensive, affordable, high-quality child care and Pre-K!
TAKE CRITICAL ACTION NOW at https://action.momsrising.org/sign/MurrayKaineProposal! U.S Senators are currently considering a child care proposal, led by Senators Patty Murray and Tim Kaine, that would help over 1 MILLION new kids and families find and afford child care, as well as help child care workers! Tell the U.S. Senate to get moving!
The child care package that’s currently being negotiated is the only viable opportunity to ensure the funding required to support a strong, stable early learning system in America and to lower costs for families at this crucial moment, especially after the devastating impacts of an ongoing pandemic.
And now is the time! It is absolutely necessary to secure robust and sustained funding from Congress for child care and preschool through the Congressional budget reconciliation process. Senators are deciding where they stand on supporting this proposal right now! That’s why it’s just so important that they hear directly from constituents like you!
Can you double down on your commitment to push for child care by taking these 3 actions?
And if you have 30 seconds after you sign…. please also:
MAKE A QUICK PHONE CALL – Text “ChildcareNow” to 747464 and enter your zip code, and you’ll be connected to your Senator’s office! Tell them we need #ChildCareNow!
Share your child care story to our story collection that we will share with elected officials!
TWEET – If you’re on Twitter, then use the links below to quickly and easily tweet this message to each of your Senators: “We need #ChildCareNow! Invest in affordable, high-quality child care and Pre-K for our families through reconciliation by supporting @timkaine’s & @pattymurray’s childcare proposal! via @MomsRising #SolveChildCare
Tweet to Sen. Casey (@SenBobCasey)
Tweet to Sen. Toomey (@SenToomey)
To reiterate, we are absolutely in crisis mode. 16,000 child care centers closed during the pandemic. [1] Nearly half a million families are estimated to be stranded without reliable child care, exacerbating the nation’s worker shortage as parents continue to stay home. Moreover, even before the pandemic, more than one half of families lived in child care deserts without safe, nurturing, affordable child care options! [2]
And, even though it seemed like the labor market has made positive gains this past January, it turns out that 27 times more men than women joined the labor force during this time, [3] child care being one of the primary reasons for this discrepancy. Women and moms are still being hit hard. This situation is not sustainable and it is hurting our nation’s children and families, as well as businesses and economy.
Moms, dads, and concerned people from around the country have been saying for years that our child care system is broken, a fact and lived reality that only became much worse as a result of over two years of a global pandemic.
Senator Murray of Washington State and Senator Kaine of Virginia have put forth a child care proposal that would help over 1 million new kids and families find and afford child care, as well as help childcare workers.
Their plan would:
Triple the existing Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG – the current grant program to states for child care) to increase child care funds to all states;
Provide grants to all states to expand child care supply, improve facilities, and raise compensation for early childhood educators;
Invest in establishing and expanding high-quality preschool grants; and
Invest in raising wages for early educators.
We are urging you to support and pass Senator Murray and Kaine’s new child care proposal that would help over 1 million new kids and families find and afford child care!
Remember: Sign, call (Text “ChildcareNow” to 747464 and enter your zip code, and you’ll be connected to your Senator’s office!); and/or Tweet to let your Senators know that child care and Pre-K MUST be included in the reconciliation package!
Tweet to Sen. Casey (@SenBobCasey)
Tweet to Sen. Toomey (@SenToomey)
Thank you for continuing to join us in the fight for child care!
References:
[1] https://info.childcareaware.org/media/16000-childcare-providers-shut-down-in-the-pandemic.-its-a-really-big-deal[2] https://www.americanprogress.org/article/americas-child-care-deserts-2018
[3] https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Jan-Jobs-Day.pdf
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