Denise Louie Education Center

Build Back Better Act Explainer!
What is happening in Congress?
Congress right now is considering a policy proposal that includes substantial federal investments in child care and preschool to build a sound early learning system. You may hear it called the child care or social infrastructure package or the Build Back Better Act. Congress is currently debating what will remain in the proposal, and your voice is needed to ensure that our lawmakers know that investments in child care and preschool are critical to families in our community.

What is in the proposal?
The proposal builds on existing state and federal preschool programs by providing funding to cover child care costs for families, provide voluntary universal preschool, and increase compensation for the Head Start workforce.
Specifically, child care co-payments would have a sliding scale that is based on their family’s income. Families making below 150% of the State Median Income, which in Washington state is $74,000, will not pay above 7% of their income for child care.
Funding for preschool would allow states to expand preschool universally, so it can be accessed by all children regardless of income or other eligibility requirements. These preschool classrooms can occur within Head Start sites, school-based systems, and child care settings.
The proposal currently allocates $2.5 billion annually to improve compensation for Head Start staff.

What can I do?
Contact your lawmakers and let them know that you support this proposal and want them to invest the necessary resources in early learning!
Send an email now! https://p2a.co/0dfz12R

Where can I learn more?
Fact sheets are available from First Five Years Fund and the Center for Law and Social Policy. You can also sign up for updates through the below organizations, which are also tracking this policy:
Center for Law and Social Policy https://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/publications/2021/08/CLASP_cappingcopaysstate_1042021.pdf
National Head Start Association https://www.nhsa.org/
First Five Years Fund https://www.ffyf.org/faq-on-the-child-care-and-preschool-provisions-in-the-build-back-better-act/
MomsRising https://www.momsrising.org/
#BuildBackBetter #earlyeducation