We need Bold, Robust Federal Support for Child Care & Head Start
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION

Dear Friend,

Fall is here which means the leaves are falling, the pumpkin spice lattes
are warming, and many of our nation’s littlest learners just had their
very first day of school. This time of year highlights the importance of
supporting our nation's little learners through quality, affordable and
accessible child care. Early investment in our nation’s children gives
them a strong start on their educational journey, from the first days
onward!

[ [link removed] ]*CLICK HERE to urge your member of Congress to ‘fall into fall’ by
supporting child care that works for us all!

Your voice is needed! Even though it’s sweater weather, the current (and
past) state of child care has been anything but warm and fuzzy. The child
care system has long been in crisis mode, failing to meet the needs of
families, providers, and businesses by continuing to be unaffordable,
inaccessible and unattainable for families. Just this year, Department of
Labor data revealed that U.S. families spend between 8.9% and 16.0% of
their median income on full-day care for ONE child [1], and even more
infuriating is that the cost of child care has been steadily increasing.
Child care prices have gone up by nearly 30 percent since 2020 [ [link removed] ], rising
5.7 percent in just the past year! [ [link removed] ]

This complete lack of affordability not only forces an unnecessary
economic burden on countless families, it also disproportionately hurts
mothers. 71% of moms with kids under 18 are in the workforce [ [link removed] ] and too
often end up facing the impossible choice between working in much-needed
jobs and paying for child care.

[2]SIGN NOW to tell Congress: Children and families need bold, robust
federal support for child care!

What does bold federal support look like? It looks like Congress
demonstrating true leadership by supporting bills that help provide
solutions to this child care disaster, bills such as:

* The Child Care for Working Families Act, which would provide states
with the robust funding necessary to truly meet the needs of families
with young children across the country by reducing child care costs,
increasing access to child care slots, investing in the early educator
workforce, and making quality improvements that will set children up
for success in the future.

* The Child Care for Every Community Act, a bill that establishes a
network of federally-supported, locally-administered child care
options. These high-quality, affordable child care and early learning
options will provide every child in America with a fair opportunity to
reach their full potential and will improve economic, child
development, and employment outcomes for children and families.

* The Head Start for America’s Children Act, sweeping legislation which
would expand Head Start to ensure that more than 11 million young
children from working class families can access high-quality early
education and comprehensive services, while also ensuring Head Start
educators earn the wages they deserve.

Supporting these critical pieces of legislation will help bridge the
massive discrepancy between the care families need and the care they can
actually access, let alone afford. Plus, these policies will also boost
our economy. Currently, 14.85 million children age five and under in the
U.S. have all available parents in the workforce, yet federal and state
early learning and care programs currently serve just 4.4 million
children.[ [link removed] ] Bills like these play a critical role in finally addressing
long-running and worsening gaps in care.

[3]This is why we need YOU to take action to keep up the drumbeat on child
care by signing onto our letter to Congress NOW.

Thank you for always showing up and taking action to make a positive
difference for moms, families and children!

- Nadia, Lauren, Nina, Hanna, Donna, Kristin, and the whole
[4]MomsRising.org & [5]MamásConPoder Team

 

P.S. – [ [link removed] ]Share your child care story with us today!

[1] [ [link removed] ]NEW DATA: Childcare costs remain an almost prohibitive expense
[2] [ [link removed] ]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
[3] [ [link removed] ]2024 Child Care Affordability
[4] [ [link removed] ]Labor force participation of mothers and fathers little changed in
2021, remains lower than in 2019
[5] [ [link removed] ]ANALYSIS: FFYF’s 2025 State Fact Sheets


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