Child Care Needs Your Help in Congress
Like many of us, our Congress is in a dither due to all the confusing actions of the new Administration and Congressional. The government is getting close to the debt limit, the budget for the current and coming years are facing difficult negotiations, and many federal programs are being suspended or put on hold.
In all of this legislative mess there’s a growing consensus among politicians of all parties that their constituents have a desperate need for better child care opportunities for their children. Since the COVID pandemic ended, far too many parents seeking to re-enter the workforce have been unable to find or afford the child care they need in order to get and keep a job. Too often, the child care they find is not helping their children to grow, or is causing too many traumas for the children. And far too many child care providers have not been able to afford to continue in that work.
There are many good bills in Congress, including its budget bills, that would fill these gaps and put America back to work. Your Senators and Representatives, whatever their parties, need to hear from you strongly and often just how you want them to fix this miserable situation.
The most effective messages often come from a personal visit to your child care activity when they are home from D.C. You can call their local office to try to set up an appointment. Your phone call to their D.C. offices at (202) 224-3121 or a comment on their website will get your opinions on a list of what constituents want. And your name on a petition from NAEYC or the First Five Years Fund, or your participation in your state or local AEYC affiliate’s Public Policy groups, will help.
Please do it! Our careers, and the lives of the children and families in our care, depend on it. Thanks.
