Tell Congress to fund child care! [ [link removed] ][IMG]
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[ [link removed] ]Take Action

Dear Friend,

I’m on day... well who even knows anymore of working from home with my
toddler and, like so many of you, my partner and I are wondering when
juggling our child care and work will come to an end. But one thing is for
sure, we want it to happen safely. 

We sat watching the news yesterday in horror as states are reopening even
as numbers of those infected are rising, and even though there’s
insufficient testing in most of our nation to ensure we don’t see further
spread. As a mother, daughter, and someone who loves my community, this is
SCARY. And there is one piece that really baffles me in these openings...
how are parents supposed to get back to work if they are called in while a
huge percentage of child care centers are still closed?  

***[ [link removed] ]NEWS FLASH: There is no real "reopening" or economic recovery if
parents and caregivers can’t get back to work. Child care funding in the
next relief package is a MUST! 

Honestly, I know my partner and I are luckier than many in that we can
work from home (even if our child is wondering if there is a return policy
on her parents). When you talk to most parents and caregivers, you’ll know
that there was already a child care crisis before the pandemic with more
than half of all Americans living in child care deserts and, for those who
could access care, the cost exceeded that of most major household expenses
including housing (especially for families with infants where the costs
are higher). [1] Now, this pandemic has made an already big child care
crisis into a child care crisis of EPIC proportions as we are on the verge
of permanently losing 4.5 million child care slots (yes, MILLIONS!) and
about half of all our child care programs. [2] [3] Excuse me as I go
breathe into a paper bag. 

And parents who are essential workers right now are already struggling to
find child care.  

Moms like Jessica, who says, “I am concerned about child care as my
husband and I both work full time; he is not home in the evenings at all
so I need to be available for my children. I do not have family who can
take my children or help us. I am a social worker who obtains aide
services and needed supplies to members who are unable to care for
themselves and are medically frail. I need to do my job, but I cannot with
my children at home, one of which is 3 years old. However, I will not get
paid if I don’t work and will most likely lose my job. I need assistance
and do not know what to do. Please help myself and others in this
situation.”

What is going to happen when we start reopening and ask parents and
caregivers to go back to work without child care? And how do we support
child care providers to ensure it’s safe for them, the child care
workforce, and our kids?! 

[ [link removed] ]***Elected leaders need to get on this ASAP. Click here to sign our
letter to tell Congress that families need them to FUND CHILD CARE NOW!

More than ever I'm grateful for the loving care my child normally receives
while we work, and what I really want to see Congress do is to support
funding for the child care industry, not the private jet industry (which
got a $25 billion bail out?!). [4] 

The size and scope of the impact of this public health crisis on the child
care sector is profound and growing with families with young children –
including infants and toddlers – struggling the most. In the next relief
package, we are urging Congress to, at a minimum, make a $50 billion
dollar investment (or $9.6 billion a month) [5] in our child care system,
which would: 

* Eliminate copayments or tuition and fees to “save spots” for
families during this crisis and ensure that providers are still
paid the full amount for that enrolled slot.
* Pay child care providers to cover their ongoing operating costs
when they are closed so their financial security – and the security
of educators they employ – is not threatened. 
* Provide higher levels of compensation – hazard pay – for child care
providers and educators serving children of frontline workers or
operating for longer hours.
* Purchase materials for providers that cannot afford or even find
supplies on their own (especially sanitation supplies like hand
sanitizer and gloves)
* Provide training and medical support for child care providers on
health and safety practices in response to the virus, available in
all relevant languages.

Families are struggling and will continue to struggle even after this
crisis passes if we don’t act now. Parents and caregivers also need
protections like paid sick days and paid family/medical leave for all
child care needs and to prevent job loss. 

[ [link removed] ]**Urge Congress to provide at least $50 billion in child care funding
to ensure the stability of our child care system.

It’s more important than ever that we speak up. Too often, people think of
child care as a “personal issue” – as in our own problem to solve. It’s
not. This crisis has shown more clearly than ever what we already knew,
that we cannot continue to expect families and providers to bear the
responsibility of child care on their shoulders alone. 

If people can’t get back to work after this crisis is over because they
don’t have access to child care, it will hurt us all and negatively impact
the ability for our communities and economy to bounce back. 

We know that a lot of people in your network are dealing with this same
stressful struggle too, so after you [ [link removed] ]sign our letter, forward this
email to your friends and family and make sure to post our action link to
[ [link removed] ]Facebook. The more people that take action and speak out, the higher
the profile this issue will get and the faster we’ll get to solutions.
There is so much information coming through the airwaves and up to
Congress that we all need to pitch in by sharing information like this in
order to break through. 

It’s time for Congress to take action on child care and, together, we can
raise our voices to make sure they do! 

-- Nina, Christina, Donna, Kristin, and the entire
MomsRising/MamásConPoder Team 

 

[1] [ [link removed] ]Mapping America’s Child Care Deserts, Center for American Progress 

[2] [ [link removed] ]Coronavirus Pandemic Could Lead to Permanent Loss of Nearly 4.5
Million Child Care Slots, Center of American Progress 

[3] [ [link removed] ]Without Immediate Relief, More than Half of Licensed Child Care
will Close in the Next Week, National Association of Young Children 

[4] [ [link removed] ]Fear and Hoarding in the Time of Coronavirus: Invest in Child
Care, Not Private Jets, MS Magazine 

[5] [ [link removed] ]Child care is Key to Our Economic Recovery, National Women’s Law
Center 

 

P.S. Our elected officials are inundated with information right now, but
we need them to really sit up and pay attention to our child care needs
before it is too late. One way to do that is for you to share your child
care story/situation with them directly. Can you tweet your members of
Congress and share your child care story (even if it’s just a short
sentence)? You can find their Twitter handles here:
[ [link removed] ][link removed] and use #FundChildCare
so we can find you on Twitter. (You can also tag us at @MomsRising).  

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