Friends, I wanted you to see this headline:

OK, what was your first reaction?

Mine was: Yeah, that sounds about right.

Every conversation I’ve had with my friends, my family, and my constituents about navigating child care over the past few years paints a picture of nightmare after nightmare, of astronomical costs and insufficient options, all leading to this full-blown child care crisis. And this isn’t an issue of millennials not knowing how to budget (or eating too much avocado toast 🙄). The problem is that the cost of child care has skyrocketed.

And now we have clear stats (not to mention an enormous $122 billion price tag!) to illustrate just how bad it’s gotten, validating every person who’s been shouting into the void for years about this growing disaster.

Creating child care that’s affordable and accessible and reimagining the social safety net is a top priority of mine. The free market hasn’t fixed this crisis, and small or temporary changes won’t be enough. The truth is, we need BIG, wholesale changes to our social safety net if we’re going to truly support kids and families - and we need people in Congress who are willing to go big, or go home.

If you’re able, please consider making a donation to my re-election campaign right now so that I can keep fighting on this issue and working towards BIG solutions.

One of the solutions I have in mind is a bill that I introduced earlier this month: the Child Care for Every Community Act. This bicameral legislation would guarantee child care that’s affordable for every family and support child care providers in their incredibly important work.

This issue goes beyond exorbitant child care costs - there are devastating trickle-down effects. 85% of primary caregivers report that problems with child care hurt their efforts or time commitments at work - ultimately resulting in unprecedented levels of women and people from minority backgrounds leaving the workforce to provide care in their homes.

For years, Congress refused to address this - and now my generation, the American economy, and our collective future are paying the price. That’s a reality I won’t accept, and it’s why I’m working every day to ensure all Californians and Americans have access to the care and support they need.

If you agree that this issue needs champions in Congress, I hope you’ll make a donation of any amount today. Your support truly makes a difference in the work I’m able to do.

Thanks so much.
-Sara

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs
California’s 51st District