Center for Law and Social Policy: Murray-Kaine Child Care Reconciliation Plan Would Expand Access to 1M+ Children, Lower Costs and Get Parents Back to Work

Press Release

Today, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) released a new analysis on the revamped child care and early education reconciliation proposal championed by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), showing that more than 1 million new children and their families could receive child care assistance to lower their costs through just the historic investment in the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) in Murray and Kaine's plan.

CLASP further outlined how the Senators' proposed investment in pre-K and Head Start--in addition to a historic pilot program to complement CCDBG and further help working parents find and afford child care--would ensure access to affordable child care and early education for numerous additional families "above and beyond" those outlined in their analysis.

"The child care sector is on the brink of collapse and we have to act now to save it--or families across the country will pay the price," said Senator Murray. "I have spoken to so many moms and parents who had to quit their jobs entirely because they either couldn't afford child care or they couldn't find it, and to child care workers who are being paid poverty wages and can't make ends meet--it's clear, this is an urgent crisis and it's putting a huge strain on our entire economy. This proposal will save families in every state thousands of dollars on child care each year, expand their options, and raise wages for hardworking child care workers. The bottom line is that this proposal is about boosting our economy, supporting the child care workforce that cares for and educates our kids every day, getting parents back to work, and lowering costs for families as we fight inflation. I'm fighting to get this done because the painful reality is that this country's child care crisis will only get worse unless we deliver strong, sustained funding through reconciliation."

"It's clear from my conversations with Virginians that our child care system is in critical need of support," said Senator Kaine. "If we want to build communities and an economy where every family can thrive, we must ensure that parents aren't locked out of the workforce because they can't find affordable care for their kids, and that child care workers aren't forced to quit jobs they love because they can't pay their bills. Our proposal will provide this crucial sector with the support it needs to make child care much more affordable and accessible and to pay its tireless workers a living wage--a win-win-win for our families, workers, and economic recovery."

"For decades we have failed children, parents, and early educators by underinvesting in child care," said Hannah Matthews, deputy executive director for policy at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). "The proposed investment would be a crucial step toward building the child care and early education system that children, families, and workers need and deserve. To address the country's longstanding child care crisis, Congress must work urgently to lower costs for families, expand the supply of quality child care and preschool, and raise wages for the early childhood workforce. The Senate should act swiftly on this proposal to provide immediate help to families and benefit the economy by shoring up the child care sector that is essential to all other work."

The nation's child care crisis is worsening each day, at significant cost to families, providers, businesses, and the nation's economy. Families are unable to find the affordable care they need to go to work, and child care programs cannot attract and retain staff due to poverty-level wages. While the American Rescue Plan provided a critical lifeline for the sector to prevent its total collapse, funding will soon expire, leaving families, workers, and providers in the lurch. Families already face impossibly high child care bills, and a lack of investment in child care could lead to increased waiting lists and even higher costs for families, provider closures, and continued staff turnover due to inadequate wages. Without action, the nation will hit a cliff that will forever impact the child care system, keep parents out of the workforce, and hinder economic growth. Senator Murray and Kaine's revamped child care proposal would address this crisis by securing robust and sustained funding for child care and preschool through reconciliation.

The streamlined and revamped proposal invests significant resources in the existing child care system to create stability for states and providers, expand the supply of quality child care facilities, and drastically lower child care costs for families across the country:

Triples the existing Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to increase funds to all states. Tripling funding for the existing system enables states to efficiently provide child care subsidies to more low-income working families and raise child care subsidy payment rates to support provider stability and higher wages for staff. This would provide $72 billion in new funding over 6 years.

Uses CCDBG to fund Supply and Compensation Grants to all states to expand child care supply, improve facilities, and raise compensation for early childhood educators. Provides dedicated funding within CCDBG to provide grants to open new child care facilities, support increased compensation for early childhood educators, and ensure child care facilities are safe and developmentally appropriate for children. Prioritizes grants for providers in underserved communities, such as rural communities. As part of the $72 billion in new CCDBG funding, a portion would go to provide $18 billion in dedicated funding over 6 years for supply and compensation.

Pilots a Child Care and Development Expansion program for 6 years. Pilots a program to complement CCDBG, where participating states can offer child care assistance to families earning up to 250 percent of SMI and cap families' child care expenses at 7 percent of income on a sliding scale for children ages 0-5. Creates a federal-state cost sharing mechanism, where the federal government covers 90 percent of the cost of high-quality child care services for eligible families. The size of the new program is dial-able and would be structured to fit within the final allocation.

Invests in High-Quality Preschool Grants. Provides grants to states to establish and expand high quality preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds. This would provide $18 billion in new funding over 6 years.

Invests in raising wages for Head Start teachers. Provides dedicated funding to raise wages for Head Start teachers and staff. This would provide $12 billion in new funding over 6 years.

A one-pager on Senator Murray and Kaine's revamped child care proposal can be found HERE.

In addition to CLASP, leading child care and early education and labor groups also voiced their support of the Murray-Kaine child care reconciliation proposal:

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