The Child Care for Working Families Act Overview

By Wakisha Newton

What seems to be one of the most needed pieces of legislation to help working families with children, yet it hasn’t been passed since introduced to Congress for the first time in 2017? The answer is the Child Care For Working Families Act. This Act was reintroduced on April 27, 2023, and this time we are more optimistic than ever that it will finally pass. What will this act do for working families, you may ask? Essentially, a lot. 

The Child Care for Working Families Act (CCWFA) will allow families to access high-quality and affordable childcare for families with children ages birth to 5 years old.  If passed, it will limit the cost of childcare to seven percent of working families’ income. Families earning below 85 percent of the state median income will have free childcare. This legislation will take away the stress of families having to choose between working to provide for their families or working to just pay for quality childcare. 

The Act also addresses the shortage of childcare in many communities. Not only are these communities not able to access quality child care, but they also aren’t able to afford the ones they do find. The CCWFA will provide grants so that new childcare facilities can be opened in childcare-desert communities that are underserved. With the grant, many communities with families that require non-traditional hours will be supported by the opening of these new childcare centers. Families with children with disabilities, dual-language learners, families experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care will also be able to access the care they need.

What I also like about the CCWFA is that, not only will it provide options for families, it addresses the childcare providers as well. Providers will be able to earn a livable wage. In the Act, this is being called B.A.S.E: Building an Affordable System for Early Educators. Nine billion dollars ($9 billion) will be provided to each state annually to distribute to providers to help with the costs of operating a quality program. The CCFWA will also provide funding for the federal programs Head Start and Early Head Start. The Head Start programs will be able to have full-term school years and full school days. The staff of the Head Start programs will be paid salaries comparable to elementary school teachers that have similar education credentials. Providers will be able to access training and professional development. The funding to the childcare centers will pay teachers a livable wage, and provide bonuses and even benefits to their staff to decrease the turnover rate.  This will allow the childcare centers to have overall stability and allow them to provide high-quality care to their communities. 

I can only hope that this time around the CCWFA will pass. I am looking forward to building stronger childcare programs, which will result in stronger and healthier communities. Families will be able to work and provide for their families without the stress of not having access to quality, affordable child care. Childcare workers will have a livable wage and the ability to provide quality care to the families they serve. The turnover rates for staff in childcare programs will drop, and children will be able to thrive in a program that meets their needs.