FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 19, 2014

PRESIDENT SIGNS ROKITA-LED CHILD CARE MODERNIZATION BILL INTO LAW

Chairman Rokita: “The people sent the message on November 4th to “get something done.”  Here is Exhibit A.  This bi-partisan bill empowers parents to build better lives for themselves and their families through access to safe and affordable child care.”

Washington, D.C. – Representative Todd Rokita, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, saw a chief priority, the reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program (CCDBG), signed into law by the President today.

“The reauthorization of this welfare-to-work program gives moms and dads child care choices while they work to eliminate long-term dependency on welfare programs. This assistance provides an opportunity to improve the lives of both current and future generations,” said Rokita, Chairman of the Subcommittee that oversees the program.

Rokita shepherded passage of the bi-partisan reauthorization of the CCDBG program, which will break families away from the long-term dependency of federal welfare programs by ensuring them the dignity of work or training for a career as a requirement for program participation. The reauthorization modernizes the CCDBG program by implementing necessary safety standards for child care providers.

“This is an example of the leadership necessary to reduce the power of the regulatory state and restore the law-making process to the proper branch of government,” said Rokita.

During the bill signing, the President vowed to abandon his proposed child care regulations due to passage of this bill. “Access to quality child care empowers people so they can build better lives for themselves and their families,” Rokita stated.

The CCDBG program helped 36,600 Hoosier children from 19,300 families in 2013. It was first authorized in 1996 and provides funds to states to help low-income families access child care. Parents receive funds in the form of vouchers or certificates to pay the child care provider of their choice.

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