NWLC Applauds Introduction of The Child Care for Working Families Act

(Washington, D.C.) The following is a statement from Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center:
 
“This vital investment in our nation’s child care system will bring us closer to an economy that truly values the daily labor of working families and caregivers. Child care and the workers who provide it – nearly all women and disproportionately women of color – are the backbone of our entire economy, from the bottom lines of corporations to the daily lives of millions of families. Yet even amidst a pandemic that has made our dependence on child care all the more obvious, families are still struggling to cover its costs while care workers themselves receive poverty-level wages. By passing the Child Care for Working Families Act, Congress can make high-quality, affordable child care a reality for millions while ensuring the skilled workers who provide it are paid a living wage.”

The Child Care for Working Families Act would:

  • Cap child care costs at 7% of income, the affordability index determined by HHS, for families regardless of how many children they have;
  • Make child care assistance available to all families making up to 150% of the median income in the state;
  • Support states in expanding preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds;
  • Ensure early educators, doing the invaluable work of teaching and caring for our future, are paid a living wage;
  • Create and support at least 2.3 million jobs, 700,000 of which would come directly from an increased need for early educators.