Today, the White House released the Build Back Better (BBB) Framework, a social spending and climate bill aimed at creating jobs, supporting families with children and meeting clean energy ambitions.
The Framework includes two key sections: expanding access to affordable, high-quality child care and universal preschool. The investments are for six years.
We know from today’s announcements that the investments will increase access to millions of children 0 – 6 and reduce the costs for parents. How? By investing in the places and people that are the work of child care.
As more families gain a new chance to choose the child care arrangement that works for them, those families will need somewhere to go! More and more families will need family child care, and family child care needs the investments of the Build Back Better plan so that you are funded to do your crucial work.
The focus of the announcement today is on the benefit of child care for parents and families. Truly, we all do this work for children and families. The White House staff reached out to NAFCC directly to acknowledge supply building, payments and investments based on real costs are in the plan. You are in this plan.
The Administration thanked NAFCC and family child care providers for what we do and our advocacy on child care. This would not have happened without you.
As we await details of the bill, the coming days are critical. Every detail matters, and Congress still has to take a vote.
At NAFCC, we urge Congress to keep working and move this. It is time to #SolveChildCare.
Official Statement from Lanette Dumas, executive director of NAFCC:
“The framework of the Build Back Better Act is significant for the future of child care. For too long, family child care programs have been left on the outside, and today the Administration opened the door and welcomed us in. This is a watershed moment for family child care providers and acknowledgement of our contributions to serving our communities, supporting the economy and shaping the lives of our youngest Americans.
The investments announced by the Administration are important for everyone that interacts with our child care system – young children, parents and early childhood educators – and allow us to provide high-quality care for years to come.
NAFCC urges Congress to take the necessary steps to solve child care and pass this bill. We cannot kick the can down the road any longer and use the pandemic as a critical learning moment to build an early education system that works for everyone.”
