Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander helped introduce the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need. 

The Child Care for Working Families Act would tackle the child care crisis head-on by expanding access to more high-quality child care options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. The legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K, support full-day, full-year Head Start programs, and increase wages for Head Start workers. Senator Shaheen and Senator Hassan co-led this legislation in the Senate. 

“The child care crisis is hurting New Hampshire families and our economy. Hardworking people can’t find the care they need, and when they can, they can’t afford it. We have got to do better,” said Congresswoman Goodlander. “That’s why I’m proud to help introduce the Child Care for Working Families Act, legislation to make quality childcare more affordable so every family can thrive.” 

The Child Care for Working Families Act will:

• Make child care more affordable for hardworking Granite Staters.

• The typical family earning the state median income will pay about $15 a day for child care.

• No working family will pay more than seven percent of their income on child care.
  
  
• Families earning below 85 percent of the state median income will pay nothing at all for child care.

• Improve the quality and supply of child care for all children and expand families’ child care options by:

• Addressing child care deserts by providing grants to help open new child care providers in underserved communities.

• Providing grants to cover start-up and licensing costs to help establish new providers.

•  Increasing child care options for children who receive care during non-traditional hours.
  
  
• Supporting child care for children who are dual-language learners, children who are experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
  
  
• Support higher wages for child care workers.

• Child care workers would be paid a living wage and achieve parity with elementary school teachers who have similar credentials and experience.

• Child care subsidies would cover the cost of providing high-quality care.
  
  
• Dramatically expand access to high-quality pre-K.

• States would receive funding to establish and expand a mixed-delivery system of high-quality preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.

• Requires states to prioritize establishing and expanding universal local preschool programs within and across high-need communities.

• Better support Head Start programs by providing the funding necessary to offer full-day, full-year programming and increasing wages for Head Start workers.

To read the bill text for the Child Care for Working Families Act, click here.

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