Child Care and Universal Pre-K: Investments in the Nation’s Children & Families Within the Build Back Better Act
Mom Congress
By the Mom Congress Policy Team
On November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed The Build Back Better Act (BBB) (H.R. 5376), which, in addition to including the Moms Matter Act (H.R. 909/S. 484), includes historic provisions investing in child care and early learning for our nation’s children. Higher quality and more affordable child care is crucial for mothers, as it reduces anxiety about children’s wellbeing as well as financial stressors. One study found that mothers’ perceptions of having good choices for child care were associated with reduced depressive symptoms (Johnson & Padilla, 2018). This is particularly important considering the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents due to child care and school closures.
The Build Back Better Act now resides in the U.S. Senate for further consideration. The BBB is unique in that it is moving through a different legislative process called budget reconciliation. Importantly, this means the bill only needs a simple majority—50 votes plus the Vice President’s vote—for passage in the Senate. However, concerns about the significant price tag have prevented some lawmakers from supporting the provision. The ultimate fate of the bill, including investments for our nation’s children and families, continues to be in doubt as Senators negotiate internally to devise a path for passage early this year.
Child Care Provisions
The BBB would create a child care entitlement program for children under sixyearsofage who have not started kindergarten. Program eligibility for families would be phased in over three years based on families with incomes at or below their state median income. Additionally, a child must have one parent or legal caregiver who is working or participating in another eligible activity (i.e., family leave, job training). Once a family is deemed eligible, the family would be eligible for 12 months.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in one in six child care jobs disappearing and 2.3 million women leaving the workforce with child care needs likely playing a large role. In an effort to support states to finance and staff programs and daycare centers, the BBB would provide federal funding for three fiscal years (FY), totaling $100 billion. In the fourth FY and beyond, child care expenses are shared between the state at 10% and the federal government at 90%. To support the child care workforce, participating child care providers would be compensated based on a cost estimation model based on the payment rates of child care services in the state.
The investment in child care would have a profound impact on the economic security for mothers throughout the life course, which would alleviate financial stress and improve the mental health and wellbeing of families. Research has shown that expanding access to affordable, high-quality child care would increase the number of women working full time with young children by 17% overall, and 31% for women without a college degree. Access to affordable child care would increase the lifetime earnings for mothers with two children by roughly $94,000. Further, private savings would increase about $20,000 and an additional $10,000 in Social Security benefits would be realized.
Universal Pre-K Provisions
Additionally, the BBB would create a free and inclusive preschool program for all three- and four-year-old children on a voluntary basis. The provisions would include an $18 billion federal investment over a three-year period and additional sums in subsequent years to continue these programs. Similar to the child care provisions addressed above, the first three years would be financed by the federal government with the fourth year requiring a 10% state match that increases in subsequent years. For states that choose to not participate in the program, $3.8 billion in grants will be made available to local entities including Head Start agencies and local governments.
Importantly, the federal funds provided for this program must supplement, not supplant other federal, state, and local funds that are already dedicated to early childhood education programs. The U.S. continues to lag in its investment for young children as only 50% of three- and four-year-olds are enrolled in public or private preschool programs, which is lower than 24 out of 34 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. Although Head Start and Early Head Start are critical federal programs for this demographic, the programs only reach two-fifths of eligible preschool-age children and 4% of eligible infants and toddlers respectively. These figures underscore the importance of supplementing all funding streams.
Free pre-K would be another opportunity to improve the financial stability of families. Research has shown quality early education targeting low-income families can have investment returns of as much as $8 for every $1 spent. For middle-income and low-income families, universal pre-K programs have also been shown to improve cognitive skills versus peers who did not attend pre-K.
The child care and early education investments within The Build Back Better Act would be a gamechanger for families–and moms in particular–across the country. Knowing how impactful these provisions would be on the wellbeing of families, including maternal mental health, there is no time to waste.
Related Blog Posts:
Build Back Better Act: How it Supports Moms and Families
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, a $1.75 trillion legislative package that aims to address social welfare. It will be considered by the Senate in the weeks ahead. In addition to critical maternal mental health legislation included in the package, several other provisions that impact moms are currently included in the package as well:
The Child Tax Credit: Tackling Child Poverty and Maternal Mental Health
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34) was the inception of the child tax credit (CTC), which was created to ease the financial burden to families with children. Over the years, the CTC has expanded from an upper- and middle-class benefit, to a tax benefit that lower-income families can claim.