The 2020 KIDS COUNT Data Book released last week details how children are faring in the United States and in each state based on thee most recent data on key trends in child well-being prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The KIDS COUNT index captures what children need most to thrive, using four domains: (1) Economic
On Tuesday, June 23, 2020, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support held a hearing on the status of child care during the pandemic and the recession. In his opening remarks, Chairman Danny Davis (D-IL) said that, in Illinois, nearly half of all available child care slots are at risk of disappearing altogether
On Thursday, June 11, Zero to Three released the State of Babies Yearbook: 2020, a comprehensive report and advocacy tool that tells the story of how the United States’ babies are faring and provides a clear view of the significant disparities in opportunity for the youngest children throughout the country. Speakers included Myra Jones-Taylor from
On Thursday, June 4, 2020, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced a companion to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) the Child Care is Essential Act that would provide $50 billion in child care funding as part of the fifth or next COVID-19 bill. CWLA has endorsed Senator Murray’s bill which is co-sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR0,
On Thursday, May 28, 2020, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released a joint letter to promote family strengthening and virtual primary prevention during COVID-19 and beyond. As federal agencies with a collective mission to improve the health, economic, and social well-being of children and families
On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the House Education and Labor Committee held a virtual briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on America’s Child Care System. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the child care sector with over half of child care providers having closed and as many as 4.5 million child care slots could be
The National Women’s Law Center released a new report on child care during this COVID-19 pandemic. The survey of states called, Child Care’s Struggle to Survive COVID-19: State Impacts and Response, released on May 12, 2020, says that, with the shutdown of many jobs and the economy, many child care programs have been forced to
On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) unveiled the $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the next major coronavirus relief bill. The legislation provisions related to former foster youth and other vulnerable youth populations includes the following emergency assistance: • $50 million for the John H. Chafee Foster
On Thursday, May 7, 2020, the National Center for Victims of Crime (“NCVC”), the National Children’s Alliance (“NCA”), and the Child Welfare League of America (“CWLA”) sent a letter to the nation’s governors asking for them to focus attention on the need to address child sexual abuse. While there has been some attention to the concern that
An analysis by the Center on American Progress suggests that the nation’s child care system could lose millions of child care slots permanently as a result of the pandemic and accompanying recession. In the analysis, Coronavirus Pandemic Could Lead to Permanent Loss of Nearly 4.5 Million Child Care Slots, the authors point to a survey
