From Moms Rising (https://www.momsrising.org/):
Child care is a winning strategy for America’s families, which is why we need to call on Congress ASAP to be the champions of a child care infrastructure that can enable our nation to recover and thrive!
SIGN NOW at https://action.momsrising.org/sign/childcare-infrastructure-2 to tell Congress: It’s time to show our winning colors by building real child care infrastructure that works for babies, kids, families, and early educators!!
It’s child care spirit week at MomsRising and we need YOUR help to get your elected leaders to take child care to the finish line.
It’s GO GO GO time!
As we speak, our elected leaders are in budget conversations and we need to make sure they hear our outside voices loud and clear if we want child care included. Congress needs to get into the spirit of supporting moms and caregivers who have too often been asked to “take one for the team” as they’ve struggled to balance child care and the ability to financially support their families. Now, as we move toward a national recovery we finally have a chance to fix this child care crisis for good!
Our rallying cry to Congress includes:
- A comprehensive, federally funded child care system (which estimates show will require a $700 billion dollar investment) that ensures all families have access to high-quality, affordable child care that is available when and where they need it and invests in the education and compensation of a diverse workforce;
- Ensuring that all care workers, as well as every person in our nation, should be paid family supporting wages;
- And creating a pathway to citizenship for care workers, other essential workers, Dreamers, TPS holders, and their families.
*Let’s make sure Congress feels our MOMentum! NOW is the right time to build child care!!
We know that moms and caregivers have been the real MVPs during the last year and a half. Now there is a national push for a much-needed action on child care, but we need to send in as many signatures as possible to help make sure that TEAM CHILD CARE gets pushed across the finish line and these policies don’t get pushed aside and overlooked!
The events of the pandemic highlighted the fragility of our country’s child care infrastructure. Returning to that inequitable and unstable status quo would be a grave disservice to workers, families, our children, and the entire economy. [1] Women and moms, especially women and moms of color, have taken the most responsibility for caring for our kids, our sick family members, our aging relatives and neighbors and supporting the people in our lives with disabilities; all while sacrificing their own careers and wellbeing in the process. We have a rare moment right now to build a new future for workers and families, and it’s up to Congress to take charge and score a win for our moms and caregivers!
Supporting child care for all ensures that our country can get back on the right track for the long haul. [2] Child care right now is least affordable for Black and Latinx families with low incomes, [3] Native American and Latinx communities are more likely to live in child care deserts, [4] and Asian American and Latinx children have particularly low levels of access to child care subsidies.
It’s time to push Congress to help us achieve a historic VICTORY. We need to address the contributions and needs of moms, caregivers, and the child care workforce by prioritizing universal child care.
Thank you for joining our team as we stand together for child care!
References:
[1] “Striking an infrastructure deal without investing in child and elder care is a huge mistake”
[2] “America’s Child Care Deserts in 2018”
[3] “Child care affordability for working parents”
[4] “Inequitable Access to Child Care Subsidies”
[5] “Called to Care: A Racially Just Recovery Demands Paid Family and Medical Leave“
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