Published by Child Care Aware of America on 6/25/21
The past year showed just how essential child care is to the country and our economy. As the world reopens and parents return to work, policymakers are realizing that it is not sufficient to restore the child care sector to where it was prior to the pandemic.
We have long known that despite the considerable investments that have been made for pandemic-related relief, the solution for an equitable and sustainable child care system lies in long-term, robust investment. Advocacy efforts over the past year have made it clear that immediate relief was desperately needed. But we also need to keep in mind that the child care sector was broken long before COVID-19. What the sector needs is long-term investment to build a system that meets the needs of children, families and providers.
Federal policymakers are stepping forward to champion child care. They are proposing big, long-term investments and finding solutions that will transform the child care system to better serve families, children, providers and communities. This blog post, the second in our two-part series, will focus on the legislative proposals in Congress.
Congress has several child care champions who have long fought for investments in the child care sector. These champions helped ensure child care received over $50 billion in relief over the past year. Now they have put forward several legislative proposals that would provide long-term investment and help create a more equitable child care system.