PBS NewsHour is airing a five-part series, entitled Raising the Future: America's child care dilemma, from July 12-16 that provides an in-depth look at the state of child care across the country. Child Care Aware® of America CEO Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., is featured in the first segment on July 12, 2021.
CCAoA has had a simple, important message for the past year: No Child Care, No Recovery.
Child care is essential for many American families, and especially women, to be able to return to work.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing inequities in the child care system. Insufficient public investment in child care leaves families and child care providers to bear the burden of supporting the current system.
The high price of child care strains the budgets of families and, at the same time, those working in child care are paid very little, undermining their ability to provide high-quality care and make ends meet for their own families.
It is time that we provide substantial public investments to fill the gap between what families can afford to pay and what educators need to make to provide high-quality care.
Child care has received over $50 billion from all the federal COVID-19 relief packages over the past year. This critical funding can save thousands of providers from permanent closure and help families across the country afford child care. See everything you need to know about the American Rescue Plan Act on our hub page.
These federal funds will help to stabilize the child care sector in the short term, but we must commit to building back a better system. The Biden Administration and Congressional child care champions have proposed big, long-term investments and solutions that will transform the child care system to better serve families, children, providers and communities.
It is critical that as we invest in child care and early learning, we support and expand care provided to both infants and toddlers and to 3- and 4-year-olds through universal pre-K in a mixed delivery system that ensures families can choose the best options for their children.
