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As negotiations continue in Congress, it is more important than ever that we ensure child care, early learning and other critical supports for families are a top priority in a final reconciliation package.
Decisions are being made on Capitol Hill right now that will determine whether Congress will pass a major investment in the infrastructure that supports American families before a key window of opportunity closes at the end of this year. Here is how you can make your voice heard on key issues for young children and their families:
Child Care and Universal Pre-K: Now is the time to build a system of early care and education that works. For many years, the high cost and limited supply of child care and preschool across the country have created insurmountable challenges for too many families - particularly those with infants and toddlers. |
| Today – Wednesday, Oct. 6 – is a national day of action to #SolveChildCare. To learn how to email, call and tweet your member of Congress today to share your support and personal experience with child care needs, visit the First Five Years Fund Action Center.
There you’ll find email language, phone scripts, social media graphics & language, and more that you can use directly with your lawmakers.
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Paid Family Leave: More than 100 million working people lack even a single day of paid family leave. That’s not right -- and we can help change it.
As Congress considers laws to help working families recover from the pandemic, we have a huge opportunity to pass paid leave for all. The reconciliation bill as part of the Build Back Better Plan includes a proposal for a national paid family and medical leave program that provides up to 12 weeks of parental, caregiving and personal medical leave to all.
Relationships with parents and other caregivers are critical to a baby’s early development, and subsequently their long-term cognitive, social and emotional development. Enacting public policies that provide parents with paid leave from work to care for their young children helps families begin their journey on a strong foundation of caring, consistent relationships.
Our friends at Paid Leave for the United States (PL+US) make it easy to take action - just use this form and they’ll connect you with your Member of Congress so that you can share how important paid family leave is to supporting child development and ensuring caregivers can equitably participate in the economy.
Child Tax Credit: The reconciliation bill also includes an expansion of the improved to the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which helps families with young children make ends meet.
Recent data indicate that these tax credits are effectively supporting families to meet their basic needs. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that introduction of the expanded CTC coincided with a decrease in the number of households with children reporting food insecurity and difficulty paying weekly expenses. It is more critical than ever to push for policies and investments designed to increase the financial stability, safety and wellness of families of young children, particularly families of color who have been historically and disproportionately affected.
Without immediate action from Congress to extend the expanded credit through 2025, these improvements will disappear after December 31st, 2021. This will quickly eliminate the opportunities these policies create for tens of millions of children now and in the future.
Use the Think Babies action center to let your members of Congress know that expanding the CTC must be high-priority in the reconciliation process. Urge them to enact the House Ways and Means CTC package, especially permanent full refundability and coverage for immigrant children, to truly benefit children in under-resourced communities of color.
Thank you for making your voice heard on behalf of young children and families across the country!
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