The United States needs a comprehensive solution to make child care affordable for families.
The Build Back Better Act would ease a significant burden on middle-class families’ finances, lowering their child care costs by more than $100 per week in most states.
Experts urge congressional leadership to make long-overdue investments in child care and early learning.
Together, the policies included in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better agenda would propel families’ and the country’s economic security by prioritizing child care, the child tax credit, paid family and medical leave, and good jobs that get Americans back to work.
The lack of affordable and high-quality child care has disproportionately pushed women out of the workforce for decades. It is long past time for the United States to provide adequate, sustained funding and end the child care crisis.
Increased public investment in child care is needed to help families access high-quality, affordable child care that meets their needs.
While families of all types are experiencing child care disruptions, the tools available to address them vary significantly across demographics.
The Child Care for Working Families Act would invest in the United States’ care infrastructure, growing the economy while lowering child care costs for the middle class.
Community-based intermediary organizations can help states quickly deliver the American Rescue Plan’s $24 billion child care relief and stabilization fund to child care providers.
Rasheed Malik, senior policy analyst for Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress, testified before a hearing on the importance of investing in schools and child care to strengthen families and the economy at the U.S. House of Representatives on April 28, 2021.