Lehigh Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Congresswoman Susan Wild spoke on the House floor about the urgency of passing the Child Care for Working Families Act, her recently introduced bill to tackle the child care crisis in Pennsylvania’s 7th district and across the country.

“I distinctly remember the panic when I had to bring my very active toddler son to court with me because his pre-school was suddenly closed,” said Congresswoman Susan Wild on the House floor. “The Child Care for Working Families Act…would help open more care providers and lower costs for parents, capping costs at 7% of a family’s income Putting money back in parents’ pockets, raising wages for hardworking care providers, and giving kids more quality early childhood education – that’s working for people.”

Rep. Susan Wild, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce reintroduced their Child Care for Working Families Act last week, comprehensive legislation to tackle the child care crisis and ensure families can find and afford the high-quality child care they need – a critically important step in addressing the child care crisis in Pennsylvania’s 7th district.

The Child Care Crisis in Pennsylvania’s 7th District:

80% of child care programs in Lehigh County and 96% in Northampton County reported staffing shortages, resulting in a combined 1,500 children placed on waiting lists.

The median yearly price for child care in each county in PA-07 has increased since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

Lehigh County

2018 median yearly price: $9,880

2022 median yearly price: $11,004

Northampton County

2018 median yearly price: $10,140

2022 median yearly price: $11,293

Carbon County

2018 median yearly price: $7,540

2022 median yearly price: $8,398

Child care workers in the Allentown area make just $28,000 to $32,000 per year, while the average starting salary for teachers is $52,000 – and these low wages contribute to staff shortages, fueling the child care crisis.

According to Charles Dinofrio, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers, the organization has suffered staff shortages because child care workers in the Lehigh Valley have been able to find higher wages elsewhere since the pandemic.

A fact sheet on the Child Care for Working Families Act is available HERE.

Watch Rep. Wild’s full speech HERE and read a transcript of her remarks below:

“I am a mother myself. My children are now 27 and 30 years old, but I distinctly remember how challenging it was to have children in a two-parent working family. I was a lawyer before I came to Congress, and I distinctly remember the panic when I had to bring my very active toddler son to court with me because his pre-school was suddenly closed. I really feel for people who have ongoing issues finding affordable, reliable child care. More than 38,000 children in Pennsylvania are waitlisted, 1,600 classrooms have closed, and hundreds of child care positions remain unfilled. In my district in the Lehigh Valley, more than 1500 children are waitlisted, and Carbon County is classified as a child care desert. But the child care crisis isn’t just hard on parents, it’s hard on child care providers, too. Early child care workers in my district make just $28,000 - $32,000 compared with their elementary school peers making $52,000. The Child Care for Working Families Act, introduced yesterday on a bicameral basis, would help open more care providers and lower costs for parents, capping costs at 7% of a family’s income. Putting money back in parents’ pockets, raising wages for hardworking care providers, and giving kids more quality early childhood education – that’s working for people.”

###

Issues: Jobs and the Economy, Education

Original source can be found here.