Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today joined with child care providers, labor leaders, and advocates to introduce legislation to strengthen America’s child care workforce. The Quality Child Care for America Act invests in quality child care by funding workforce development initiatives and workforce enhancement for child care providers, who all too often lack the training and resources they need to ensure high quality care for our children.

“When we neglect child care, we are neglecting our children. By failing to provide the resources needed to attract and keep people in the field and improve training, we risk failing children in their formative years, as well as parents who rely on child care to go to work to support their family,” said Senator Clinton. “The Quality Child Care for America Act will help these children succeed by helping child care providers succeed.”

“The Quality Child Care for America Act is not only about helping parents find peace of mind – the knowledge that their child will be safe and sound in the hours they cannot be with them – and about creating a strong foundation to ensure every child has a fair shot to achieve his or her dreams, but also about helping child care providers receive the benefits they are due,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “To make quality childcare available and to make that investment pay-off, our nation needs a well-trained and educated child care workforce. This is about investing in the future of our country, in our workforce and in our children.”

"With this legislation, Senator Clinton and Congresswoman DeLauro are insisting upon a greater investment in quality child care and the professionals who do this important work. These men and women have committed their lives to providing quality care for our children and families. It’s time for our nation to match their commitment. And the way to do that is by passing the Quality Child Care for America Act," said Gerald McEntee, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

“By seeking a comprehensive solution to the child care crisis, this bill recognizes the critically important contribution child care providers make every day to ensure kids can get the quality early education they need to grow and learn,” said Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Secretary Treasurer, Anna Burger.

“Child care workers, who are almost one hundred percent female, can have a critical impact on the successful development of the children in their care. Yet they are among the lowest-paid workers in our society, they often lack health insurance or other benefits, and all too often are forced to hold second jobs,” said Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center. “The Quality Child Care for America Act begins to address these serious concerns by providing additional federal resources to states to fund initiatives aimed at supporting the child care workforce and improving child care quality.”

Strengthening America’s child care workforce is a critical investment in our children and families. Every week, more than 12 million children under six years old are in child care. Approximately half of these are three years old and younger. High quality, developmentally appropriate child care has been shown to increase a child’s chances for success in school later in life and although many child care providers in centers and in homes across the country are providing high quality care, too many lack the support needed to improve child care quality. At the same time, too many child care providers cannot afford to stay in the profession, rarely have access to healthcare or benefits and receive little or no training. The lack of affordable, high-quality child care not only affects children, it is also an important factor in workers’ capacity to maintain employment. High turnover remains an issue for the child care field. Thirty-five percent of employed child care providers in 2005 were no longer employed the following year.

The Quality Child Care for America Act will help address the child care crisis by investing in child care professionals. The bill amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act to create a $200 million set-aside fund for child care centers and home-based providers to improve quality as well as compensation and support for child care professionals. States will be able to distribute these funds to public and private child care centers and home-based child centers, with a maximum of 30 percent of funding directed to non-center-based providers. Funding can be used towards compensation or benefits for child care providers, as well as continuing education and training. Providers will be required to maintain the expenditures put toward child care in the previous fiscal year, but funding provided under the Quality Child Care for America Act will supplement any efforts to increase care quality.

The legislation is supported by the National Women’s Law Center, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

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