Dear DCAEYC Members and Supporters:
We just learned that Mayor Bowser CUT $5 million from the child care subsidy program in her FY21 budget proposal. This is outrageous, and adding insult to injury, the DC Council is considering a bill that EXCLUDES child care from emergency business grants, a program that is essential to stabilizing the industry. If the Council doesn’t immediately act to fix this, providers may have to close their doors, putting educators out of work, and leaving families without care for their children.
Even child care businesses who receive government subsidies often rely on private payments from parents to make ends meet. Without emergency relief, nearly 145 educators could permanently lose their jobs, affecting classroom capacity for 1,160 infants and toddlers during some of their most important learning years.
Failing to assist child care businesses whose revenues have been hard hit these recent months could cause the District to lose an additional 20% of its child care capacity.
This exclusion hurts women and people of color, who are the majority of child care owners, operators, and educators.
We were facing a child care crisis before the pandemic, and these cuts and exclusions would make a bad situation even worse. There is no justifiable rationale for the actions Mayor Bowser and the DC Council are considering and that’s why we need you to take action TODAY.
Call Chairman Mendelson at (202)724-8027 TODAY and tell him:
STOP the cuts to the child care subsidy program
Include child care businesses as a category in the emergency relief grants so they can receive 10% of the $100 million being allocated to DC businesses.
We need Chairman Mendelson and the DC Council to lead on this so child care providers and educators are not left behind- our children and families cannot afford it.
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