Child Care Gets a Special Mother's Day Promotion

(WOMENSENEWS)--Federally funded universal child care can hardly be called an "issue" since it so rarely appears on the national political agenda.

But as Mother's Day approaches, some lonely advocates and lawmakers are trying to push the lack of quality, affordable child care--a key concern for many mothers--into this election year's headlights.

Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, plans to introduce legislation Monday that would increase federal funding for child care programs to $10 billion in fiscal 2009, a huge increase from the current discretionary spending level of $2 billion.

Child care is "grossly underfunded," Casey spokesperson Larry Smar said, noting that only 1 in 7 eligible children receives child care assistance.

Nine advocacy groups have endorsed Casey's bill, including the National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the State Employees International Union in Washington, D.C.

If the measure doesn't become law this year, advocates hope to at least build momentum behind the issue.

Meanwhile, Moms Rising--an online group that advocates on behalf of mothers and families--is asking its 140,000 members to use Mother's Day to raise awareness about the high cost of child care and other workplace issues such as inflexible work hours and the lack of paid leave to care for family members.

The National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., and two dozen partner organizations came together on March 4 to "march forth" for more money for child care and Head Start, the federal early childhood education program for low-income families. Advocates across the country called and e-mailed more than 500 lawmakers with requests to increase investments in child care.

Expensive Essential

Many parents--especially single mothers--have trouble affording quality child care.

Child care fees at licensed centers reach as high as nearly $15,000 a year for infant care, according to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies in Arlington, Va. All-day care for older children can cost as much as $11,000 a year, more than most U.S. families spend in a year on food or public college tuition.

Roughly one-quarter of "poverty spells"--a period of poverty two months or longer at a time--begin with the birth of a child, according to a 2005 analysis by the Washington-based National Partnership for Women and Families.

Low-income families who qualify for federal child care assistance have no guarantee they will receive help, according to the National Women's Law Center. In 2007, 17 states placed families on child care waiting lists, some lasting several months, due to lack of adequate federal funding for child care programs.

Families can expect some relief this year. Those filing 2007 tax returns were eligible for up to $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and other smaller credits varying by state.

But advocates and lawmakers want Congress to do more, especially as families come under increasing financial stress in the current economic downturn, said Helen Blank, director of leadership and public policy for the National Women's Law Center.

Lobbying for a Hike

Compared to the attention-getting amount sought by Casey's bill, the National Women's Law Center has been far more conservative in its lobbying efforts, asking for $874 million more in federal child care assistance, a 42 percent jump over current discretionary spending levels that would cover inflation adjustments not made over the last seven years to the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

And they want another $1 billion for Head Start, which would represent a 16 percent hike over current levels.

For his part, President Bush wants to continue flat-funding federal child care programs and he wants about $150 million more for Head Start, according to the fiscal 2009 budget proposal his administration released in February. Freezing child care funding would result in more than 200,000 low-income children losing care over the next two years, according to the Office of Management and Budget. Children would also lose out in Head Start, critics say, because the president's proposed spending increase does not keep up with inflation.