Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/child-care-and-the-middle-class/5020506/
When I interviewed Joan Lombardi for the last Policy Matters column, she shared that without child care, “far too many low- and middle-income families are losing ground,” and called for a national strategy for both policy reform and increased investments.But putting child care on the national agenda is no easy task.
Back in the 1990s, when Dr. Lombardi headed the first federal child care office, early childhood education was front and center. Major newsweeklies covered the latest brain research, presidential candidates mentioned it on the campaign trail, a White House Conference was called, and major legislation was passed. The realization of the potential of the early years and the political consensus around welfare reform combined with many, many other factors to elevate early childhood.
Today, the economic and political picture is different. Still, you know that the importance of child care in the lives of working parents and their children has never been greater.
In today’s thinking, high-quality early care and education is essential for working families to keep from losing ground, and necessary to get a leg-up into the middle class for those less fortunate.
Rebuilding America . . . with Child Care
Recently, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), influential chairman of the Senate ...