Public Statement on Child Care Relief in the American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2021 —Today, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which includes historic funding to support the child care sector. The bill provides $15 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program and $24 billion for a child care stabilization fund. It also includes important tax provisions to help make child care more affordable for families by expanding and making fully refundable the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC).

“Child care is essential to the health of our economy. This pandemic has brought attention to a system that has struggled to meet the needs of working families for far too long. This bill will provide much-needed relief for child care providers of all types to remain in business, and it will help families afford safe, quality care for their children. As we look towards the recovery from this pandemic, we must continue to work together to build a stronger child care system that meets the needs of children and families in order to support our workforce and remain globally competitive,” said Maxine Clark, Founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop and Co-Chair of the ReadyNation CEO Task Force on Early Childhood.

Child care is, and must remain, a bipartisan priority for this Congress. The American Rescue Plan provides substantial emergency support to the sector, but we must also look towards building consistent and sustainable investments that ensure all providers have the resources, flexibilities and opportunities to provide quality affordable child care and that all families can access and afford the child care that meets their needs. Parents, child care providers, businesses, and government all have the opportunity to come together to support bipartisan efforts to improve access to quality child care. The business leaders of ReadyNation are united in working to enact policies that achieve these goals.

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ReadyNation is a national network of 3,000 current and former cross-sector business executives around the country focused on strengthening workforce development and the economy through the promotion of smart investments in America’s children and youth.