From KinderCare Learning Companies Chairman and CEO, Tom Wyatt

On September 30, $24 billion in federal pandemic relief funding for child care will expire. For the last three years, these funds helped avert a collapse of the child care industry.  They enabled providers to open their doors each morning to support working families and the local economy.
 
This temporary funding has been crucial to many child care providers across the country, including KinderCare. Without it, many more child care providers would have been forced to close for good.  As we near the looming expiration, many providers will once again struggle to survive – unable to balance a parent’s ability to afford care and the cost of providing a safe and nurturing environment for children.  
 
We need a more permanent solution – one that increases the affordability of child care for families and enables providers to invest in quality early learning experiences for children. 
 
KinderCare urges Congress to pass a fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriations package with robust funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which will enable states to build on the innovative and impactful programmatic improvements funded through federal child care stabilization dollars. 
 
We also encourage Congress to pass legislation to improve and expand child care tax credits such as the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and the employer-provided child care credit (Sec. 45F), as well as legislation to support the child care workforce and underserved areas.
 
At KinderCare, we’re proud to support America’s working families. From the day we opened the doors of our first center in Birmingham, Alabama in 1969 to today, we’ve remained committed to bringing high-quality early childhood care and education to families across the country. And while our 2000 centers and programs across the country are stable thanks to our committed teachers, staff, and families, we know that is not the case in every child care setting.  
 
As the industry leader, we call on Congress and state legislatures across the country to support early childhood education, support working families, and support economic development by investing in high-quality child care providers.