Contact: Joe Weedon
2023 202-277-9410
jweedon@zerotothree.org
WASHINGTON, DC – October 25, 2023 – Today, Miriam Calderón, Chief Policy Officer at ZERO TO THREE, thanked the White House and called on Congress to swiftly adopt emergency funding for child care included in the Biden Administration’s domestic supplemental spending priorities announced today.
“ZERO TO THREE gives its heartfelt thanks to President Biden for requesting Congress provide $16 billion to stabilize the nation’s child care system so that families can continue to count on the child care programs that enable them to work and early educators can continue to carry out their essential work of helping children without sacrificing their own well-being.
“Congress made a substantial investment during the pandemic to save the child care sector from collapse. Our country’s bold action helped providers to keep their doors open and ensured that family costs didn’t skyrocket. Because of the emergency aid infants and toddlers weren’t left without quality care they need during a critical time in their development and parents were able to remain in the workforce. But, as that funding expired, a new, robust investment is needed to prevent the child care system from severely eroding.
“The ability of families to access high-quality, early care and education is critical to a young child’s healthy development and learning. The President’s call for continued investment recognizes child care as an economic priority that can help realize the power of the earliest years of a child’s life, a crucial period of human development. For providers, the infusion of federal dollars will help them to keep their doors open without passing costs along to families – who are already spending larger and larger portions of their income on child care. With the new federal dollars, providers will be able to reduce waitlists, increase employee wages and benefits, and better serve babies.
“High quality, early care and education is a key support for families and ZERO TO THREE appreciates that the Administration recognizes that families and providers across the country are facing a crisis that will only worsen without swift, decisive action. This $16 billion investment in our country’s child care system is an initial step that preserves the foundation on which we can create a system that works for providers, parents, and young children. I urge Congress to act swiftly to adopt this package.”
