Our nation needs child care so parents can go to work, kids can thrive, child care workers can stay in their profession, and businesses can prosper.
Even though 71% of moms with kids under 18 are in the workforce, families report paying a third of their take home pay to child care and, across the country, the annual price of infant child care often exceeds the annual cost of in‑state tuition at a public four‑year university.
The U.S. child care system has been in crisis for decades, being unaffordable and unattainable for too many families. Data released this year from the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor revealed that, nationally, child care costs more than rent.
Children who have positive and engaging interactions in their earliest years are more likely to enjoy good physical and mental health over their lifetimes. They are also better able to experience, regulate, and manage their emotions — key skills for later school readiness.
The importance of child care programs like Head Start cannot be overstated. It’s the most important social and educational investment in children, families, and communities our country has ever undertaken. Launched in 1965 as a comprehensive child development program, Head Start operates in all 50 states and has provided child care to more than 38 million children and their families over the last 60 years.
Head Start and Early Head Start significantly support the development of early childhood mental health (like social-emotional development), language, and cognitive development and children who attend Early Head Start and transition to Head Start are more ready for kindergarten than children who do not attend Head Start.
Head Start and Early Head Start help kids thrive, give childcare workers the chance to stay and grow in their profession and enable parents to work or go to school. Head Start is not only important for kids, it uplifts the financial sustainability of families and our economy.
The success and demonstrated positive impacts of Head Start and programs like it have received bipartisan support for decades.
Child care cuts and eliminating Head Start will cause:
Lenore Gabbard, Morgan
