ICYMI: Murray, Sanders, Clark, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Extend Vital Child Care Funding and Save Millions of Families’ Child Care Spots — MORE HERE
One analysis from The Century Foundation found that, without intervention, the expiration of federal child care stabilization funds could affect child care programs across Washington state — MORE HERE
***AUDIO OF THE EVENT HERE***
***PHOTOS AND B-ROLL OF THE EVENT HERE***
Shoreline, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a former preschool teacher, visited Shoreline Community College to hear from local officials, child care leaders, and providers about how Washington state is responding to the expiration of federal child care funding Senator Murray was instrumental in delivering in the American Rescue Plan. Senator Murray spoke about her efforts to extend federal child care stabilization funding, her comprehensive child care reform legislation, and her continued work to address the child care crisis through every possible avenue in Congress. Senator Murray was joined by Washington State Representative Tana Senn (D-LD-41); Allison Krustinger, Director of Public Affairs at Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Family Services (DCYF); Junaid Haq, Director of the Parent Child Center at Shoreline Community College; Deeann Puffert, CEO of Child Care Aware of Washington; and parents of children who are enrolled at the Parent Child Center at Shoreline Community College.
When the pandemic pushed the already-fragile child care sector to the brink of collapse, Senator Murray led Democrats in Congress by delivering a historic $24 billion in child care stabilization funding nationwide through the American Rescue Plan to save the sector from collapse. The funding made an enormous difference, keeping 220,000 child care providers afloat over the last few years and saving child care slots for up to 10 million kids nationwide—but the funds expired at the end of September. Last month, Senator Murray introduced the Child Care Stabilization Act, which was cosponsored by dozens of her Democratic colleagues and would extend the child care stabilization funding and ensure that providers can keep their doors open—and she is working to build the support needed to get it to the President’s desk.
“As a former preschool teacher and someone who got my start in politics advocating for my kids’ pre-k program, child care has always been an issue that is close to my heart,” said Senator Murray. “No matter where I go, I am constantly hearing from families who are stressed trying to figure out how they will find a child care opening, and how they will afford it if they can get off the wait list. I led the efforts in Congress to save the child care sector from collapse when COVID hit our country hard—and the investment we made in child care, which was the largest one-time investment ever, helped over 220,000 providers keep their doors open and serve up to 10 million kids nationwide.”
“But those funds expired at the end of September—threatening to make it even harder than it already is for parents and families to find child care. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to extend these critical child care stabilization funds to help providers keep their doors open and serve families. Because let’s be clear: our child care system isn’t just stretched thin—it’s broken. I’m going to continue working every avenue available—and work with every willing partner in Congress and in Washington state—to help families in our state find and afford quality child care,” Murray said.
“The emergency federal funds for childcare during the COVID pandemic helped keep the industry alive. If we want childcare to thrive—and, boy, do we need it to—ongoing federal investment is a must,” said Rep. Tana Senn (LD-41). “Sen. Murray is our secret weapon to help make that happen.”
“The one-time Federal child care dollars stabilized the child care industry in Washington state during the pandemic. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families moved fast to distribute the Child Care Stabilization Grant dollars across the state,” said Allison Krutsinger, Director of Public Affairs at DCYF. “And we know more robust, on-going investments are needed to truly solve the child care crisis that so many families face.”
“As the Director of a Parent Child Center, I truly understand the importance of serving our faculty, students, and community with high quality childcare. My center helps our faculty and community families to continue to work, and our students to follow their goals and future endeavors. I strongly believe that further investments in childcare will help with families that receive financial assistance and the amount that childcare providers are paid. It was great to have Senator Murray here today, because she understands the importance of childcare and that it should be accessible in every community,” said Junaid Haq, Director of the Parent Child Center at Shoreline Community College.
“Thanks to Senator Murray, child care was stabilized during the pandemic for parents, children, and providers. Together with Washington’s foresight to plan for the loss of that funding with Fair Start for Kids and other measures, we have shored up access to high-quality care for families most in need and supported providers in keeping their doors open,” said Deeann Puffert, CEO of Child Care Aware of Washington. “We’re still facing an ongoing crisis in child care. This teamwork gives me hope that we can create a path to a system where all families can afford care and providers are paid a living wage.”
Senator Murray, a former preschool teacher herself, has long led the fight to tackle the child care crisis in Congress—using every tool at her disposal to make progress for families. As Chair of the Senate HELP Committee, she wrote the provisions in the American Rescue Plan that provided the largest one-time investment in child care ever to stabilize the child care sector when the pandemic hit, and last month, she introduced the Child Care Stabilization Act, which would provide $16 billion in mandatory funding each year for the next five years to continue the successful Child Care Stabilization Grant Program. Earlier this year, Senator Murray released a report on how the expiration of federal child care funds could make it even harder for parents to find affordable child care—and the Child Care Stabilization Act would ensure that child care providers continue to receive a stable and reliable source of funding to help them deliver high-quality and affordable child care for working families across the country.
Earlier this year, Senator Murray reintroduced her Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to solve the child care crisis and ensure families across America can find and afford high-quality child care. The bill would ensure families can afford the child care they need—expanding access to more high-quality options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. It would also dramatically expand access to pre-K and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head Start workers. The typical family in America would pay no more than $10 a day for child care—with many families paying nothing at all—and no eligible family would pay more than 7% of their income on child care under Senator Murray’s bill. Senator Murray has also long fought to strengthen the Child Care and Development Block (CCDBG)—and last year as Chair of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, she successfully secured a 30% increase in funding for the program. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray secured another $700 million increase for CCDBG in the draft fiscal year 2024 funding bill that passed out of Committee in July.
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