FV@W Commends President Biden’s Child Care Funding Request

FV@W’s Network has been steadfast in our demand for federal investments in the care economy with a specific focus on paid leave and childcare. We commend the President on rolling out this new childcare funding request. At such a pivotal time, when COVID-time protections expired in September and it’s expected that more than 3 million children will lose child care, many families are now being forced to make the impossible choice between their checks and taking care of their children.

Even though the nation fell over the childcare cliff, the needs of working families and their children didn’t go away. There are still workers trying to figure out how they will keep their jobs and take care of ailing family members. There are still families wondering how they’ll continue clutching the semblance of financial security that they have while going to work sick.

Poll after poll, working voters have made clear that a working care economy is critical to their livelihoods. And in a time of so much uncertainty, the country’s crumbling care infrastructure is also a national security issue. A nation of stressed, unhealthy, worried workers (because we lack child care, elder care, healthcare, paid leave, and paid sick and safe days) is inherently unstable.

This nation’s workers demand our legislators––whom we employ––promote care in policy and practice; that they demonstrate the power of care by prioritizing the needs of the people, and by making care a shared responsibility. We demand that workforce leaders respect caregivers by ingraining time to care in their workplace policies and expectations. And we demand the creation of a stronger social support network that ensures that all of the resources needed to take time to care––including paid leave with job security and progressive wage replacement, and affordable childcare––are available to all.