Today, the Resource Center is joining advocates around the country to urge our Members of Congress to invest in child care.
While other industries have received support from Congress to ensure they can remain open during the pandemic, child care has yet to see meaningful investment.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Prince George’s County was home to 747 family child care programs and 377 centers. During the crisis, our 1,124 licensed child care programs shrank to 435 programs for essential workers only.
Now, our community’s child care providers are trying everything to build back safely and well. We see them and the mounting pressures that families face too.
Let’s make sure Congress sees it too. Please contact Senator Van Hollen and Senator Cardin TODAY and ask the Senate to #SaveChildCare!
Senator Van Hollen’s DC office phone number: (202) 224-4654
Senator Cardin’s DC office phone number: (202) 224-4524
When you call each office, you can talk to the staff person who answers, or you might have to leave a voicemail message. Here are some quick suggested talking points for your message:
- My name is ___ and I’m a constituent in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
- I’m calling to ask my Senator to support a $50 billion investment in child care, and to do it soon. Child care needs immediate support.
- (Say a little something about your program or your experience: is your child care program open or closed right now, what are your worries and what do you need?)
- Thank you for listening and thank you for your support.
Are you on Twitter?
Here are some ideas for engaging our Senators on Twitter:
- #Childcare centers and #familychildcare homes are essential! If the child care industry doesn’t get substantially more funding soon, we may not be there to support parents and the economy during reopening and recovery. @SenatorCardin @ChrisVanHollen #SaveChildCare.
- We need at least $50B to #SaveChildCare! @SenatorCardin @ChrisVanHollen we are counting on you to prioritize passing increased funding for child care immediately.
- Child care plays an important role always, and even more so during a public health & economic emergency. This is why Congress must #SaveChildCare NOW. @SenatorCardin @ChrisVanHollen will you help pass legislation? Families and providers can’t wait any longer
