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Senate Child Care Plan Skimps on Child Care Funding
Proposal Leaves Millions of Children Behind
Source: Children's Defense Fund
For more information, contact
Joyce Johnson
Phone: 804/492-4519
Cell: 703/980-7641
E-mail: jjohnson@cwla.org
June 25, 2002, Washington, D.C. -- The Senate Finance Committee will meet tomorrow to consider the renewal of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The Chairman’s proposal ignores the needs of low-income working families who struggle every day to pay for child care.
Child care help is critical to the ability of low-income working parents to get and keep a job yet costs more than public college tuition in nearly every state. Currently, only about 2 million of the 15 million children eligible for services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant actually receive help. When fully implemented, the Chairman’s proposal to add $5.5 billion over five years would provide child care assistance for only an estimated 100,000 more low-income children.
What does this say to the hundreds of thousands of families on waiting lists for child care who are trying to support their children on limited incomes? How does Congress explain that it can give millionaires tax breaks worth billions of dollars a year while neglecting the child care needs of hard working low-income families?
Proposals by other Committee members, such as S.2070 sponsored by Senators Bingaman and Kerry, would increase CCDBG funding by $11.25 billion over five years. We, the undersigned organizations, urge the Chairman to do better and include this increase in his proposal to help more parents work and more children enter school ready to succeed.
Business and Professional Women, USA
Camp Fire USA
Child Care Action Campaign
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Defense Fund
Easter Seals
National Association for the Education of Young Children
National Association of Child Care and Resource and Referral Agencies
National Council of Jewish Women
National School-Age Care Alliance
National Women's Law Center
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
RESULTS
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
USA Child Care
YWCA of the USA
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CONTACT: Helen Blank, 202-662-3547
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