Expanding Child Care Subsidies in the Federal Budget

The President's Federal Budget proposes to increase the Child Care Development Block Grant by $1.6 billion. This funding is greatly needed to address the unmet need of the nearly 200,000 children waiting to receive child care services!

• Parent Voices members have met with staff of federal representatives in their district office to ask them for their support of the President’s increase for child care funding.
• On Mother’s Day, 500 mother’s day cards were delivered to federal representatives with the message to support increasing child care funding.
• In July, the House Appropriations Subcommittee voted to increase federal child care funding by $700 million and the Senate Appropriations Committees voted to increase it by $1 billion!  We are pushing all our Congressional members to vote in support of this increased funding!  To learn more about the House version click here and to learn more about the Senate version click here.

Photo Symbolizing Children Waiting for Child Care

Advocating for Expanding Child Care in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Towards the end of 2008, Parent Voices members began to advocate for new federal investments in child care funding in the federal stimulus package. By February 2009 we learned that $2 billion was invested in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for child care! In 2009 Parent Voices met with the Department of Education, Department of Finance, and nearly every state legislator to ensure that the portion of funding that came to California would include expanding child care for the children waiting. By the end of the budget year, $15 million was approved to expand child care services. However due to a last minute state budget cut to latchkey afterschool care, the $15 million was used to restore this cut.

• Parent Voices members have met with and will continue to meet with the Department of Education in order to ensure that every unspent dollar goes to expand child care services to families on the waiting list