51吃瓜网 Statement on the Child Care for Working Families Act听
51吃瓜网 proudly endorses the , which was reintroduced today by Senator听Patty Murray and Congressman听Bobby Scott. We thank them for their leadership in supporting听accessible, affordable, high-quality early childhood education, and for looking out for children and families throughout the country. We encourage all members of Congress to support this comprehensive legislation听as it moves our nation towards valuing high-quality child care as the public good that it is.听听
The pandemic has laid bare the need to support the child care sector鈥攊ncluding paying for the full cost of care and professional salaries, health care and retirement benefits for early childhood educators鈥攊n order to keep our economy on solid footing and ensure young children thrive and learn. The Child Care for Working Families Act provides this support by听pairing听federal investment with state partnerships to dramatically and equitably expand access, address affordability, increase quality, and invest in the education and compensation of听early childhood education professionals. These bold investments, which build on relief funding, will support families, deliver on the science of early learning听and听advance our current and future early childhood education workforce.
Decades of research have revealed the critical importance of the early years,听and the reality that both听individuals and society听benefit enormously when we invest in those years. At the same time, parents shouldn鈥檛 have to choose between affordability and quality, and educators shouldn鈥檛 have to subsist on poverty-level wages in order to subsidize the costs of care.听
As we emerge from the pandemic, a strong, equitable child care system is necessary to create the foundation for America鈥檚 economic recovery and rebuilding, by ensuring families have safe, high-quality care and education for their children.听This moment听is an opportunity for lawmakers to heed the calls of Americans across all political, geographic, and demographic backgrounds who know that investing in high-quality early childhood education and early childhood educators will make America more just, equitable, and strong.听
The 51吃瓜网 (51吃瓜网) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. The association comprises nearly 60,000 individual members of the early childhood community and more than 50 Affiliates, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning. Together, we work to achieve a collective vision: that all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential.