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Vice President Kamala Harris announced that $39 billion from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan would be released to help the child-care industry.
“The strength of our country, the resilience of our economy, depends on the affordability and availability of childcare,” Vice President Harris said. “When it comes to childcare in our country, families need help. Even before the pandemic, childcare cost too much, and it was too hard to find – and for too many families, outside of their reach. The pandemic has accelerated the flaws and the fissures in our system.”
According to Procare Solutions, one in four child care providers closed during the pandemic.
“For many, many people, and many women, in particular, childcare has often been the prerequisite for their ability to work. And for many others, childcare is their work,” the Vice President said. “That’s why in America, childcare should be readily available and affordable for all those who need it.”
The $39 billion disbursement to the childcare industry “will provide a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of childcare providers and early childhood educators, provide a safe and healthy learning environment for more than 5 million children, and help parents, especially mothers, get back to work.”
“Thanks to the historic expansion of the CDCTC in the American Recovery Plan, a median-income family with two kids under age 13 will receive up to $8,000 towards their child care expenses when they file taxes for 2021, compared with a maximum of $1,200 previously,” the White House said.
Tribes, states, and territories can use the funding to pay rent and mortgage for child care centers and family child care providers and to pay employees.
“We are giving the people of this nation help — with checks, with lower healthcare costs, with childcare assistance, and so much more,” Vice President Harris said. “We are giving America hope.”
