As Congress debates the numerous proposals to support care infrastructure, one thing is clear: we are missing a collective opportunity to invest in our youngest citizens. Part of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act includes investing in the care economy, particularly the care and education of young children. The First Five Years Fund has issued a great summary of the provisions in the current legislation that relate to early care and education. You can read it here.
This funding would support a mixed-delivery system that prioritizes parental choice and would address the current untenable business model that tries to keep child care affordable for parents by paying near poverty wages to early educators. The three-year phase-in period from FY2022 to FY2024 allows states to expand supply and access to families at certain income thresholds. Starting in FY2025, there will be no income limits for family eligibility, but there will be an asset test so that families with over $1 million in assets do not qualify for support. At that point, states will also need to match 10% of the federal funds.