Dear John,

Just a quick note since we’re short on time: I hope you’ll read my colleague Julie’s letter below—it’s an honest and up-close account of how challenging the pandemic has been for families who had the rug pulled out from under them when schools and child care centers shut down.

Moms like Julie have been juggling work and child care since the pandemic began because there were no other options. But right now, we have an opportunity to change that, and we need your help. Make a gift today and join a community that’s fighting for long-term, meaningful funding for child care and early learning in the federal budget.

We know we can make this happen. The Law Center has already scored big wins for families with the expanded Child Tax Credit and a historic increase in mandatory child care funding. We need the help of our community to continue this fight.

Let’s do this. Donate now for a brighter future for women and families.

Thank you,

Whitney Pesek
She/Her/Hers
Director of Federal Child Care Policy
National Women's Law Center

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: National Women’s Law Center
Date: August 31, 2021 11:04 AM
Subject: Take it from a parent: this isn’t working

Fighting for gender justice in the courts, in public policy, and in our society.
Justice for her. Justice for all.

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Dear John,

It’s back to school season, and I’m exhausted. After more than a year of juggling work, child care for my two kids, and virtual learning, we’re starting kindergarten and second grade in person. Getting the kids into an actual school building (!) is a huge deal for me and my family—but I also know that one COVID case in the classroom is all it will take to bring it all crashing down again, and then what?

I know I’m far from alone. Moms in the United States spent the equivalent of a full-time job on child care last year —while working at the same time. For me, that meant gut-wrenching decisions about whether to ask for help from my parents, who live close by but are at especially high risk during this pandemic; for many other moms, it meant different—but equally impossible—choices. That’s why I’m writing to you today. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity for long-term, meaningful funding for child care and early learning in the $3.5 trillion federal budget, but we have to act fast.

Can you help the National Women’s Law Center with a gift so we can make lasting change for moms and all parents and kids in our country? [[link removed]]

I’m on the policy team at the Law Center, and throughout the pandemic, we’ve been pushing tirelessly to get benefits for working families into federal COVID-19 relief legislation. We’ve celebrated some big wins, like the expanded Child Tax Credit—but right now, none of them are permanent.

Congress is rapidly finalizing the details of the budget that will determine how much funding goes toward child care and early learning. We’re all in on this fight, and I hope you’ll join us with a donation. [[link removed]]

We have a very small window of time to secure policy wins for working families in this budget legislation:
Ensure no family pays more than 7% of their income on child care

Guarantee a living wage for child care providers

Make sure families can find affordable, high-quality child care no matter where they live

The truth is, a bold investment in child care and early learning is the only way we’ll achieve an equitable recovery for women and especially women of color. The gaps in child care infrastructure that the pandemic exposed can’t just be temporarily patched up. This country can no longer treat women as our fallback plan. Make a gift now to support truly transformative change, not just for our child care system, but across all of the institutions that shape women’s futures. [[link removed]]

Thank you for your support, and if you’re also a working parent, I’m especially grateful for you.

We’ll get through this together,

Julie Vogtman
she/her/hers
Director of Job Quality and Senior Counsel, Income Security & Child Care Team
National Women’s Law Center

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