We advocate for the change we need as mothers and caregivers at all levels of government—from our local county commissions to Congress. These are our current priorities.

Child Care

Our long term vision is a universal, publicly-funded child care and early learning system that:

• values child care and the diverse professionals who provide care
• is equitable, affordable, and culturally-relevant
• is developed by and for Black and Indigenous people, people of color, and the predominantly women providers and parents who know the most about child care and early learning

Bills We Support

Child Care & Pre-K Reconciliation Proposal championed by Sen. Patty Murray

The revamped early learning proposal would invest robust funding in the existing federal child care program — the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program — which would quickly get funding to all 50 states and territories, strengthen the early learning workforce, expand the supply of quality child care facilities, and lower child care costs for families across the country. The CCDBG program has served millions of children and families for decades; however, due to insufficient funding levels, CCDBG currently only reaches 11% of income-eligible young children and provides insufficient reimbursement to providers.

Additionally, the latest proposal would:

• Fund critical child care infrastructure needs, including higher wages for early educators and staff, including Head Start staff.
• Reduce child care deserts and improve the supply of high-quality child care.
• Support quality improvement activities in all states.
• Establish a new pilot program for states to match federal dollars to expand child care assistance to middle-income families.
• Expand access to high-quality preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.
• Every state and territory already participates in the CCDBG program so eligible families and providers would immediately see more access to child care, creating a positive effect on workforce participation across the labor market. And thanks to the temporary pandemic relief funding Congress provided over the past two years, states are equipped for an infusion of much needed sustained funding in order to right-size their CCDBG systems.
• By immediately increasing CCDBG funding, more parents will be able to choose the provider and setting that best meets their needs, including child care centers, home-based family child care providers, faith-based programs, while enabling families to pursue greater economic security and job stability.