
New Mexico, Washington state, and Kentucky have already implemented initiatives to fund and sustain child care programs.
As the curtain falls on the $52.5 billion childcare relief initiative spearheaded by the Biden administration and Congress, a patchwork of innovative state-level solutions has emerged to fill the void.
According to The Associated Press, policymakers nationwide have acknowledged that a federal remedy is unlikely to arise in the near future, sparking them to get ahead of the matter and craft novel approaches to fund and sustain childcare programs. State initiatives include the expansion of low-cost or free preschool and early childhood education. Legislators have devised permanent funding mechanisms to ensure the longevity of these endeavors.
Washington state has implemented a novel 7% tax on residents’ investment profits to fuel its ambitious child care aspirations to offer free preschool for low-income families, childcare vouchers for households with low to moderate income, and high-quality infant care for children with developmental concerns, by the end of the decade. However, a looming referendum in November could potentially derail this progress by repealing the tax, sparking concerns among childcare advocates.
While the most substantial investments have come from Democratic ranks, Republican state lawmakers have also embraced plans to bolster child care.
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Source: Black Enterprise