During COVID 19 we must prioritize supporting families’ access to safe,
high-quality, and affordable chilcare.
[ [link removed] ]Paid Family Leave
Congress must act NOW to save childcare!
[ [link removed] ]take action
[ [link removed] ]Take Action
Dear Friend,
“Trying to find childcare during the pandemic is almost impossible. I am a
caregiver for a 20-month-old and right now he has to bounce from one house
to another for childcare. This isn't safe for him or me. I am one of the
people that is high risk, but I have to do this due to my child care being
closed. I fear that it may not open up any time soon.”
All around the country, moms like Yvonne are sharing their struggles with
childcare as they try to deal with the far-reaching impacts of COVID 19.
During this time of crisis, we must prioritize supporting families’ access
to safe, high-quality, and affordable childcare. This is crucial for our
economy as too many parents are being forced to choose between child care
and their jobs, and is important for the health and safety of our
communities.
This is why Congress must act NOW to save childcare!
[ [link removed] ]*CLICK HERE to sign on to urge members of Congress to prioritize a
minimum of $50 billion childcare stabilization funding in the upcoming
coronavirus package!
This robust investment is urgent and overdue for parents like Yvonne.
Research shows that at least $50 billion is necessary to stabilize the
precarious childcare sector. Recent analysis shows that at least $9.6
billion a month is needed to fully fund existing providers in the sector
to pay all their staff, be prepared to reopen at the appropriate time and
eliminate cost burdens for families whose providers are closed. [1]
The bad news is that what Congress has passed so far for childcare is not
nearly enough to address this crisis. Congress recently provided $3.5
billion to Child Care and Development Block Grants (CCDBG) as part of the
CARES Act. Yet these resources wouldn’t even cover a month’s worth of
costs. And the $7 billion in relief proposed in the House-passed HEROES
Act is also insufficient to cover a month’s worth of costs.
The good news is that there is still time for elected leaders to save
childcare and give families access to safe, quality childcare so that they
can work and give providers the ability to keep their businesses open and
keep their employees.
[ [link removed] ]Can you sign on to send a quick message to your lawmakers right now and
urge them to save childcare?
Right now, childcare providers are facing an extremely uncertain future.
According to a survey by the National Association for the Education of
Young Children, 40% of the childcare centers in the U.S. say they will be
forced to shut down if they don't receive additional public assistance.
[2] In fact, we are hearing from parents about centers already closing,
like Diana in New York: “My childcare center closed its doors and I’m
heartbroken. Our childcare provider has been part of our life for 7 years.
We don’t know what we are going to do. Finding a new childcare provider is
no easy feat. The price has to work, the location, the hours...there are
too many unknowns now, and I think, unfortunately, that the best thing to
do for our family is to scale work back until we can figure out if it is
safe to send our children to child care during the pandemic.”
This crisis is also further exacerbating long present racial disparities
in childcare access. According to a Center for American Progress analysis,
a lack of childcare negatively affected communities of color before the
pandemic, as parents of color were more likely than their non-Hispanic
white counterparts to experience childcare-related job disruptions that
could affect their families’ finances. If policymakers fail to act to
address these disparities, this crisis will only intensify. [3]
An uncertain future for childcare means an uncertain future for families.
With more than 23 million children under the age of five in the U.S. and
the families of more than half them relying on some form of childcare,
this potential shutdown would have devastating impacts on families and our
economy. [4]
The $50 billion stabilization fund can help prevent this crisis from
becoming even worse for families by providing the federal funding we need
to keep the childcare system afloat.
[ [link removed] ]*CLICK NOW to tell your member of Congress to ensure a $50 billion
stabilization fund is a top priority in the next legislative package.
The infusion of the grants provided by this important piece of legislation
would cover the cost of just over five months of emergency care and relief
for the overall childcare system. It would ensure that the childcare
system is maintained to support families of essential workers who need
care now and all families who will need care when they return to work.
Our families are already being challenged by economic and health
uncertainties; taking away childcare for millions of Americans would only
further harm any recovery efforts from this pandemic.
Congress must listen to and support our families. Together, we can raise
our voices to make sure they do!
-Nadia, Nina, Donna, Kristin, and the entire
[ [link removed] ]MomsRising/[ [link removed] ]MamásConPoder Team
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