An Historic Leap in Building a Better Future for Children and Families

An Historic Leap in Building a Better Future for Children and Families

Early Years releases statement in support of the Build Back Better Plan framework released by the Biden administration

Chapel Hill, N.C., October 28, 2021: Today the White House released the framework of the Build Back Better, a historic set of policies and investments in children and families. Early Years and its TEACH Early Childhood® National Center applauds the framework released today that puts children’s and families’ health, economic security, and child care and preschool at the center of our national investments, reaping benefits for all of us. We call on Congress to get to the finish line and put this important legislation on the President’s desk as soon as possible as we continue to push for paid leave, a necessary component of child and family well-being. We urge states to apply for both the new child care and preschool programs that together build a better system of early learning. Children and families have waited long enough; let’s get to work to make the better future start now.

For more than two decades, we have worked directly with early childhood education programs and families to provide affordable, quality child care and preschool and have supported child care and preschool educators across the nation to provide them with debt-free, individually supported pathways to successful completion of higher education degrees and other credentials and better compensation. These new child care and preschool programs will lift the wages of (primarily) women from poverty levels to compensation that recognizes the critical work and the specialized education and skills that they use each day in centers, family child care, and other settings to support each child’s optimal development and learning.

We will urge states to apply for both programs to create a strong early childhood system. We are looking forward to working with states to expand their current workforce supports and to help other states implement the comprehensive, successful strategy of scholarships, counseling, and compensation for educators who are the backbone of quality experiences and learning for young children.

Early Years
Founded in 1974, the mission of Early Years is to lead efforts to strengthen accessible and affordable quality early care and education by providing supports for families, communities and the workforce. To that end, Early Years provides free child care referral services to families, financial assistance to low-income families seeking child care and professional development and technical assistance to child care programs. Through spoonFULL, Early Years also provides nutritious meals to children at child care centers, where they may eat 50-100 percent of their meals. Throughout North Carolina, educational scholarships from Early Years’ TEACH Early Childhood® Scholarship Program give child care professionals the means to obtain a debt-free education, while Early Years’ Child Care WAGE$® and Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$ Plus® programs supplement their meager salary. Early Years also licenses TEACH and WAGE$ across the U.S. through the TEACH Early Childhood® National Center at Early Years and conducts early childhood systems and homelessness research and policy development statewide and nationally. For more information, visit childcareservices.org.

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