FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 26, 2020
Contact on behalf of Care That Works Coalition:
Vishakha Mathur, 617-485-7709, Vishakha@617MediaGroup.com
Investment & Equity needed for child care that works in MA
Return to the pre-COVID normal is unacceptable; a leading child care coalition claims in its recent report.
BOSTON — A leading coalition of community-based groups and organized labor unions, Care That Works, released a report calling on Governor Baker and legislative leaders to advance equity-driven solutions to the statewide child care crisis, including raising progressive revenue to fund major investment in home-based child care.
The recently released report emphasizes the need for a transformation of the State’s child care system and not just a return to the pre-COVID era.
“Our care economy is in collapse, but it was already in crisis before the pandemic. Child care won’t survive without drastic intervention. It’s a prime example of a system that demands radical transformation rather than a return to normal,” said Noemi Ramos director of New England United for Justice, a member of the Care That Works Coalition.
The Coalition has identified six equity-based child care proposals for the State to fuel a just recovery. They focus on increasing the supply of home-based child care, protecting and improving conditions for child care workers and small child care business owners, and uplifting the voices of the most impacted in the State’s process of reopening and recovery.
“Moving forward from this crisis, we need to make sure the most vulnerable communities aren’t left out and left behind,” said Lindsay McCluskey, deputy director of Community Labor United, which convenes the Care That Works coalition. “Only by listening to the most-impacted families and care workers can we identify solutions that will benefit not just some of us, but all of us.”
The report argues for child care to be invested in like a public good, but that such an investment can’t happen without taxing the wealthy, or without employers paying their fair share.
“Family child care providers need investments to stabilize and grow their businesses,” said Jynai McDonald of SEIU Local 509, a member of the Care That Works Coalition. “By improving compensation and financial support, and launching a recruitment program to bring new providers into the field, among other efforts, the State can make care in small group settings more accessible to families that need to return to work.”
The report validates the voices and experiences of those impacted by and on the frontlines of the crisis as guiding lights for child care fiscal and policy decisions.
“In prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable in our reopening, we can model the equity required for a universal child care system, which is really the ultimate solution our communities need,” said Deborah Hughes, President & CEO of Brookview House, a member of the Care That Works Coalition.
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The Care that Works (CTW) coalition, convened by Community Labor United, includes community-based groups and organized labor unions united to fight for an equitable, public child care system centered on the needs of the multi-racial working class and the multi-modal, predominantly female child care workforce. Partners include: BEST Hospitality Training, Building Pathways, Brookview House, Community Labor United, Matahari Women Workers’ Center, New England United for Justice, Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues, SEIU Local 509, and UAW Local 1596. Visit CareThatWorks.org to learn more.
