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EYE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD
January 2022
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2022: The Year to Transform Child Care and Early Education, Address Inequities
As we start a new year, we thank you for your ongoing support and partnership on child care advocacy. This is a highly uncertain time. As COVID surges and the path for long-term funding through Build Back Better remaining unclear, the need for continued advocacy is more important than ever.
The new year finds us actively supporting the bold and equitable implementation of child care relief funds that will have a dramatic impact on families' access to high-quality child care and workforce support. The resources total over $50b, including resources from:
*
American
Rescue
Plan
Act
in
March
2021
[[link removed]]
;
*
Coronavirus
Response
and
Relief
Supplemental
Appropriations
(CRRSA)
Act
[[link removed]]
in
December
2020;
and
*
Coronavirus
Aid,
Relief,
and
Economic
Security
(CARES)
Act
[[link removed]]
in
March
2020
While these resources are vital in helping alleviate the deep impacts of the pandemic, much more is needed to address the historic and systemic failures of the system. Historically, the child care system has relied on Black women’s and other women of color’s undercompensated labor, as well as families that pay the high costs of care. It’s time to put the needs of families and the workforce first.
Congress must continue working [[link removed]] toward passing crucial legislation that will help meet all children’s and families' needs. The Build Back Better Act [[link removed]] is an unprecedented investment that provides the funding necessary to begin addressing inequities and building a sustainable system of high-quality child care and early education. Despite the uncertainty of its passage in the Senate, we remain hopeful and optimistic that, in collective work with other organizations, advocates, policymakers, and you, we can get this transformative bill over the finish line.
Here are some of our latest resources to support the bold implementation of these historic funds while also advocating for the passage of Build Back Better and its large-scale investments. With this transformational legislation, it is possible to begin establishing an infrastructure for a more equitable child care system. In 2022, the CLASP child care and early education team looks forward to continuing this critical work alongside all of you.
During the last quarter, the child care & early education team's work was featured in many publications including: The New York Times [[link removed]] , Wall Street Journal [[link removed]] , CNN [[link removed]] , Huffington Post [[link removed]] , CNBC [[link removed]] , The Washington Post [[link removed]] , Business Insider [[link removed]] , Atlanta Journal-Constitution [[link removed]] , Fatherly [[link removed]] , MS Magazine [[link removed]] , Marketplace [[link removed]] , and more.
What we've been working on
7 Things to Know About Child Care and Universal Pre-K in the Build Back Better Act [[link removed]]
Alyssa Fortner outlines the key things to know about child care and universal pre-K provisions in the Build Back Better Act.
Understanding Child Care and Pre-Kindergarten Provisions in the Build Back Better Act [[link removed]]
Alycia Hardy and Stephanie Schmit detail the child care & preschool provisions of the Build Back Better Act. Updated in January 2022 to reflect most recent bill text.
How Build Back Better Advances Racial Equity in Child Care and Early Education [[link removed]]
Alejandra Londono Gomez and Alycia Hardy explain how the BBB Act can begin to address socioeconomic inequities—which underpin racial inequities—through expanding access to millions of families, strengthening provider supports, and prioritizing resources to support communities who are underserved.
Build Back Better Act’s Child Care Provisions: State-by-State Estimates [[link removed]]
Alycia Hardy and Stephanie Schmit estimate the child care funding each state, Puerto Rico, and D.C. will receive in the first three years of the Build Back Better Act.
Advancing Equitable State Child Care Policies Using ARPA and Other Relief Funds [[link removed]]
Alyssa Fortner, Tiffany Ferrette, and Christine Johnson-Staub highlight the actions that select states have implemented to make the most of the historic COVID-related federal investment in child care and early education.
Capping the Co-pay: A State-by-State Analysis, Child Care Proposal Will Keep More Money in Families’ Pockets [[link removed]]
Alejandra Londono Gomez and Alycia Hardy detail how reducing out-of-pocket child care expenses would help support families.
The Build Back Better Act: Child Care and Early Learning by the Numbers [[link removed]]
CLASP, The Century Foundation, and the National Women's Law Center write on the Child Care and Universal Pre-Kindergarten investment included in the Build Back Better Act as an economic, political, and racial and gender justice imperative.
Celebrating Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Immigrant Workers during Hispanic Heritage Month [[link removed]]
Alejandra Londono Gomez, in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrates immigrant families and calls for broader policy changes in immigration.
Make Child Care More Affordable: States Should Use Relief Funds to Increase Income Eligibility [[link removed]]
Alyssa Fortner demonstrates the value of increasing income eligibility limits for child care assistance and how states have done so using COVID-19 relief funds.
Investments in Child Care Are Needed to Improve Provider Pay and Reduce Parent Expense [[link removed]]
Alejandra Londono Gomez, Alycia Hardy, and Stephanie Schmit explain how insufficient public investments in child care have created a domino effect of economic burdens and instability for families and providers.
Where we've been presenting
Child Care Now- Time To Deliver Rally [[link removed]]
On December 14, the Child Care for Every Family Network [[link removed]] hosted a rally to tell Congress to support parents and child care workers and pass Build Back Better.
PowerUp & Build Back Better with Care [[link removed]]
On October 21, co-sponsored by CLASP, MomsRising held a rally to show support of Build Back Better with advocates, members of Congress, and leaders.
National Head Start Association Virtual Roundtable- Head Start and Pre-k: What We Know and What We Need [[link removed]]
On September 9, Stephanie Schmit presented Head Start and pre-k at a National Head Start Association webinar.
To stay up to date on our work, follow us on Twitter @CLASPChildCare [[link removed]] !

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Washington, DC xxxxxx
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