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A new effort at the U.S. Congress is designed to help working families access affordable housing and child care.
The Build Housing with Care Act would invest $500 million to construct child care centers in affordable housing buildings and cover the costs of retrofitting to help family child care providers operate in housing developments.
Priority will be given to projects that are located in child care deserts or rural communities, including qualified Head Start providers and providers primarily serving low-income children.
A change — specifically, a changing table — might be coming to the House of Representatives. Yes, it took 234 years for male lawmakers to pursue accommodations for their own babies. At least the shambolic start of the 118th Congress, during which some members brought their little ones to the House floor only to discover the House isn't exactly family-friendly, might turn out to accomplish something.
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (MA-05), Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04), and Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13) joined the First Five Years Fund, PBS Kids, and the National Head Start Association to hold a 2022 kickoff for the Bipartisan Congressional Pre-K and Child Care Caucus. The caucus launched in 2016 to bring lawmakers, policy advocates, and pre-kindergarten/child care providers together to promote policies that expand access to high-quality pre-K and child care.
SAN ANTONIO - "I think we've been in a period during this pandemic - people realize the value of a strong education early on," said Congressman Joaquin Castro. He has spearheaded the effort to make pre-k and child care programs more accessible to families across the nation.
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, March 16 at 11:00 AM ET, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (MA-05), Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04), and Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13), co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Pre-K and Child Care Caucus will be joining First Five Years Fund, PBS KIDS, and the National Head Start Association to host this year's virtual kick-off for the Pre-K and Child Care Caucus via Zoom.
Megan McMillan has known for a while how important quality child care is, and how difficult it can be to find in the Portland area. The pandemic also taught moms like her how hard it is to go without it.
"After enduring attempts to work from home full-time, with two kids under five, I can tell you with no doubt that child care is the work that makes all other work possible," McMillan said.