Year after year, CCAoA’s annual research report has found that the price of child care is too high for too many families. The good news is that change may be coming. Earlier this year, President Biden proposed big investments in child care and preschool. This month, Congress has put pen to paper and crafted legislation, called the Build Back Better Act, to make those investments a reality.

The past year showed just how essential child care is to the country and its economy. As the world reopens and parents return to work, policymakers are realizing that it is not sufficient to restore the child care sector to where it was prior to the pandemic.  

We have long known that despite the considerable investments that have been made for pandemic-related relief, the solution for an equitable and sustainable child care system lies in long-term, robust investment. Advocacy efforts over the past year made it clear that immediate relief was desperately needed. But we also need to keep in mind that the child care sector was broken long before COVID-19. What it requires is long-term investment to build a system that meets the needs of children, families and providers.  

Federal policymakers are stepping forward to champion child care. They are proposing big, long-term investments and identifying solutions that will transform the child care system.  

As the COVID-19 health and economic crisis continues, the child care industry is pushed further towards the brink of collapse. Throughout the pandemic, the sector has adhered to public health guidance and ensured frontline personnel have access to care, however as the field moves towards additional reopening, and planning for the fall, additional support is needed to ensure child care programs, both center-based and family child care, outlast the pandemic. 

In the wake of the coronavirus, child care is facing serious challenges. While the field has come together to ensure public health guidance is followed, that care is available for frontline personnel, and that additional reopening of the sector is approached appropriately, more is needed to ensure that child care programs, both center-based and family child care, survive in the long term.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives unveiled their version of the latest round of stimulus relief: The HEROES Act. 

While we are happy to see some movement on relief for the American people coming out of Washington, this bill falls woefully short of where we need to be to ensure the survival of our child care system.