At Child Care Facility, Rep. Wild Discusses Child Care Legislative Priorities, Advocates for Passage of Child Care for Working Families Act

On Friday, October 18, 2024, Congresswoman Susan Wild visited the Lehigh Valley Children's Centers Spring Garden Early Learning Center, where she read to preschoolers about civic engagement, toured the facility and highlighted her forward-looking child care priorities. Joined by Charles Dinofrio, M.Ed, President & CEO of Lehigh Valley Children's Centers, Rachele Fortier, State Director of Family Friendly Pennsylvania, and Mariah McMahon,Director of Spring Garden, she discussed her legislative priorities for increasing the Greater Lehigh Valley's supply of high-quality, affordable child care.

"From the beginning of my time in Congress, I have made it a priority to push for high-quality, affordable child care, because working families in our community must be able to access the care they deserve." said Congresswoman Susan Wild. "I will continue doing everything I can to support families and child care providers throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley in the next Congress, including working to pass my Child Care for Working Families Act to increase tax breaks for working parents, ensure providers earn fair wages, secure funding so child care centers can remain open, and prioritize traditionally underserved families and high-need communities."

"The lack of access to high quality and affordable early education and childcare starts at our workforce," said Charlies Dinofrio, M. Ed, President & CEO of Lehigh Valley Children's Centers. "This is a critical issue that requires investments and support from our state and national legislature. LVCC would like to thank Susan Wild for putting a spotlight on the childcare crisis and supporting positive change for our educators."

"Child care is essential. However, a historic lack of investment in the child care industry has created a crisis for Pennsylvania families and providers," said Rachele Fortier, State Director of Family Friendly Pennsylvania. "Congresswoman Susan Wild has been a leader fighting for permanent, sustainable federal investments to fund the true cost of child care so working families have access to the tools and opportunities they need to get ahead and providers can serve their communities with high-quality care and thriving wages for educators."

"As a parent of a child who attends Lehigh Valley Children's Centers and as an Early childhood professional, I believe the services LVCC provides inspire children to better their community and their future through the education they receive," said Mariah McMahon.

On the heels of successful legislation to lower the price of health care and prescription drugs through the Inflation Reduction Act, Rep. Wild is now targeting child care, to ensure that parents can participate in the workforce while also ensuring their children are well taken care of.

In April, Rep. Wild joined Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott and Senators Tim Kaine and Patty Murray to reintroduce the Child Care for Working Families (CCWF) Act. Seen as a long-term solution to the ongoing child care crisis, this bill would ensure families can afford the child care they need by capping the cost of child care at 7% of a family's income and providing free child care for families making less than 85% of the state median income. While this legislation has not received a vote in this Congress, Rep. Wild will lead this and other legislation next Congress to bring down the cost of child care for working families across Pennsylvania and the country.

The Child Care for Working Families Act will: Make child care affordable for working families.

• The typical family earning the state median income will pay about $10 a day for child care.
• No working family will pay more than seven percent of their income on child care.
• Families earning below 85% of state median income will pay nothing at all for child care.
• If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.

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.
• States must prioritize establishing and expanding universal local preschool programs within and across high-need communities.
• If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.

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

As a longtime advocate of the need to make child care more affordable and accessible, Rep. Wild has previously hosted multiple forums to talk with local stakeholders about the urgent needs in the child care sector. Last October, she hosted a roundtable with parents and child care providers at the Bethlehem Branch of the Greater Valley YMCA to discuss the impact of key American Rescue Plan child care grants expiring. In September, she spoke as part of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce's Building Brighter Futures: Addressing the Early Childhood Crisispanel where she provided an update to the legislative work being done in Congress to address the child care shortage.

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