Tell Congress we need WIC and CCDBG!
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION

Dear Friend,

As the parent of young children, I often hear the sentiment “enjoy every
moment, it goes by in the blink of an eye” or “The days are long but the
years are short.” I have to admit, even when I’m cleaning up a very
expensive carton of eggs from the floor or changing my sixth diaper of the
day, I know that I will somehow miss this time when my little ones want to
cuddle up any chance they get, or enthusiastically sit down for storytime.

Sadly, right now both parents and caregivers aren’t able to enjoy these
priceless and fleeting moments due to the utter lack of support they face.
[ [link removed] ]But Congress has the power to improve things for families and our
economy at the same time.

Affordable child care is out of reach for far too many parents and
caregivers who either live in child care deserts or can’t foot the costs
of care that can sometimes even surpass the price of college education.[1]
Too often, parents may find themselves counting down to when they no
longer have to pay a second mortgage just so their children can get the
care they need. Instead of enjoying and fully cherishing these priceless
early years with children, there is a sad and desperate sense of “hurry up
and grow up” to fast forward to the point where our kids are in school.
But the cost of not being able to savor our children’s early years is far
too high of a price to pay. Our children and families deserve much, much
more!

[ [link removed] ]Hurry up and grow up is NOT the mantra our families need when it comes
to our kids. Tell Congress to support and increase funding for food and
child care programs that lift families!

Did you know that WIC (the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program)
has experienced a 12% increase in child participation since 2020 and the
program is expected to serve 6.5 million pregnant and postpartum women,
infants, and young children in fiscal year 2024?[2] For decades, there has
been a bipartisan commitment in Congress to provide necessary funding to
serve all eligible participants – and that support must continue.

In addition to this, Vice President Harris recently announced new steps to
deliver on the fight to lower the cost of child care by strengthening the
Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, which supports 1.5
million children and their families each month with child care
assistance.[ [link removed] ]

Specifically, these steps would:

* Cap child care copayments for working families at no more than 7% of a
family’s income and encourage states to waive copayments for families
at or below 150% of the federal poverty level;
* Improve financial stability for child care providers and incentivize
their participation in the CCDBG program by ensuring they are paid
on-time and based on program enrollment instead of attendance; and
* Make it easier for families to access CCDBG by encouraging states to
accept online applications for CCDBG enrollment and to make siblings
of children who already receive the subsidy presumptively eligible for
benefits.[ [link removed] ]

IDK about you but this sounds AMAZING to me. Now we just need Congress to
get us closer to these solutions!

[3]Tell Congress to support care so that families can truly cherish the
time they spend with their children. Take action NOW to tell Congress we
need WIC and CCDBG for our families!

Another reason we need to shore up support for programs like these for
families is because women are finally returning to the workforce. Job
recovery after the worst of the pandemic mostly applied to men. The rates
of women working had been lower till recently. Just this past June, the
share of working-age women between 25 and 54 who are working or looking
for work hit 77.8% — an all-time high.[ [link removed] ] Among African American women in
that age range, more than 80% are in the workforce.[ [link removed] ] Yet there are fewer
child care workers today than there were before COVID-19 struck. That
shortage could grow worse when temporary federal subsidies expire this
fall.

With not enough child care workers and the expiration of temporary
subsidies, moms will once again be left begging their little ones to hurry
up and grow up.

[4]This is why we must demand that Congress protect the crucial child care
programs WIC and CCDBG!

Supporting WIC and CCDBG is one way to make ongoing family support a
reality. Instead of parents counting down the days for their kids to
access schools or public programs, we can say “slow down just a little” to
enjoy that bear hug, that smile of wonder, the nap on our shoulder that
will one day be a fleeting memory. Shouldn’t memories of love be what
families carry with them instead of the stress of constant struggle and
worry? Don’t all of our families deserve that?

I say we do, and I hope you do too! Thank YOU for taking action and never
forget that together we are a powerful force fighting for children and
families.

-Nadia, Nina, Lauren, Donna, Kristin, Hanna and the whole
[5]MomsRising.org/[6]MamásConPoder Team

P.S. Want to amplify your impact? [ [link removed] ]Click here now to send a Letter to
the Editor to your local paper. This is a powerful and easy way to make
sure our elected leaders get the message to prioritize supporting WIC and
comprehensive child care!

 

[1] [ [link removed] ]New Report Finds Fewer Child Care Providers and Increased Prices,
Highlighting Need for Significant Federal Investment in Child Care
[2] [ [link removed] ]National WIC Association’s New Report Shows Increase in Child
Participation
[3][4] [ [link removed] ]FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces Actions to Lower
Child Care Costs and Support Child Care Providers
[5][6] [ [link removed] ]Women are returning to the job market in droves, just when the
U.S. needs them most


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ [link removed] ]Vote     [ [link removed] ]Facebook     [ [link removed] ]Twitter     [ [link removed] ]Radio     [ [link removed] ]Donate     

[ [link removed] ]Register to vote! / [ [link removed] ]¡Regístrese para votar!

[ [link removed] ]Join our Spanish language community, MamásConPoder.org

What should MomsRising tackle next? [ [link removed] ]Tell us!



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]