Kaine proposes new legislation to help provide affordable childcare

New legislation proposed by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) will help struggling families have access to childcare.

Kaine said many families across the United States are struggling to add childcare to their monthly budgets. Though it is a necessity for many working families, Kaine said, rising prices and diminishing supply add stress to working-class families. He said the current relief options are hard to access and confusing for families, and this bill aims to make it easier for families.

”They’re hard to access, [and] the credits themselves are not particularly robust,” Kaine said. “Katie [Britt] and I have been working for a couple of months gathering stakeholder support not only from childcare organizations but also chambers of commerce and others who see affordable childcare as a real block to economic productivity.”

The diminishing supply of childcare and lack of providers is a perfect storm for rising childcare prices. Kaine said funding is the biggest roadblock for incentives, but it’s ultimately up to the state about how money is spent.

”We’re continuing to advocate for more and more funding in the programs the childcare development block grant and head start fund. We vote on and then we hand those to the state,” Kaine said. “The state makes the determination about how to allocate the funding by region and by childcare provider. We are going to continue doing that.”