More than Kisses for Babies on the Campaign Trail

Babies may finally be getting their reward for years of being passed off for hugs and kisses to strangers campaigning for office. Both major candidates for President are now talking about child care policy. Yesterday, in the midst of a major speech on the economy, Donald Trump announced a plan that would allow families to “fully deduct the average cost of child care spending from their taxes.” Meanwhile, Secretary Hillary Clinton is talking about capping the percentage of income families have to pay for child care at 10% through tax credits and child care subsidies, as well as raising pay for child care workers. While we await details on both plans, as advocates, we know how rare it is that presidential candidates are actually jockeying for position on policies for young children. It’s a sure sign that families’ needs are finally bubbling to the surface!

Meanwhile, all is quiet on Capitol Hill, but in a few weeks Congress will be back in town for a pre-election push on an agenda that has several open questions important for children. One item is the mental health reform bill stalled just short of the Senate floor. The House has already passed and sent over its version. Both the House and Senate bills contain a provision to invest in promoting infant-early childhood mental health. The Family First Preventive Services Act, which would channel much-needed funds to efforts to prevent foster care placements, also awaits Senate action. Infants and toddlers are the largest group entering care, so resources to help them stay with their families would be welcome. Finally, appropriations bills must be completed or, as is most likely, a continuing resolution must be passed, before the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30. Although early care and learning programs received small increases in Committee action, child care especially faces a significant shortfall because of the implementation costs of the reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Final decisions will probably have to wait for a post-election session–but that means there is still time for advocacy for more funding for children!

article credit:  The Baby Monitor  https://www.zerotothree.org/