Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), member of the House Education and Labor Committee, hosted a childcare and pre-K roundtable at Berkley Building Blocks to highlight the reduced costs and better care families will receive under the Build Back Better Act.
Currently, Michigan families with two children will pay 21 percent of their income on childcare and pre-K costs an average of $8,600 per year in the state. Congressman Levin fought to ensure that 9 out of 10 Michigan families will pay no more than seven percent of their income on childcare and that free pre-K is available to all three- and four-year-olds as a part of the human infrastructure bill to support working families and improve educational outcomes.
Congressman Levin visited Berkley Building Blocks, an early childhood education and care center in the Berkley School District, to speak with Superintendent Scott Francis, Early Childhood Supervisor Katie Fotiu, and local parents of young children about how these investments will improve the level of care centers provide and reduce costs to families.
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"I still remember when my wife Mary and I had three kids under five at one point. It's such a great time, but also an overwhelming period as we both juggled the responsibility of childcare," said Congressman Levin. "That's why as a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, I fought hard to ensure the Build Back Better Act will enable Michigan to expand access to free, high-quality preschool to more than 219,279 additional 3- and 4-year-olds per year, increase the quality of preschool for children who are already enrolled and put money back into the pockets of working parents by reducing childcare expenses. We must see to it that the Senate version of the bill includes these important provisions for working families."
"Right now, we pay more monthly for childcare than we do our mortgage. Knowing that we have to add a third to that is scary," said Lyndsay Forsmo, mother of two with a third baby on the way. "Both my husband and I work, and we both want to continue working, and in order to continue to be able to afford our household, having that help would be huge."
"My wife and I are both contractual workers. Throughout the pandemic, if childcare wasn't there or unavailable at the time, then I would have to pick up the child care and thus wouldn't be making money," said Adam Copeland, father of two. "Having reliable, consistent childcare that's paid for would be a huge boost for us."
"Both my husband and I are working full-time. It wasn't an option not to," said Jessica Jimenez-Schlicht, mother of twins. "Having the flexibility to be in a different environment where maybe I don't have to work full-time or my husband and I don't have to worry about what the situation would be should one of us lose our job or our income—that's not an option. The drive to be able to provide for your children doesn't stop. The anxiety you feel once you're going to be a parent and finding out you're having twins and how you are going to manage that is extraordinary. Being able to have assistance in the public sector would be huge for us."
There is a need to give every child the foundation they need to be successful in K-12 school," said Berkley Building Blocks Early Childhood Supervisor Kathleen Fotiu. "We have around 300 students currently and there are 372 on our waiting list. We've had a lot of families who have called us because their centers have closed or they were in a home-based facility and their provider is no longer providing. We love every family that we get and we just wish we were able to service more."
"It's an exciting task," said Berkley School District Superintendent Scott Francis in response to Congressman Levin's question about ramping up their pre-K program. "Just thinking of the impact this will have on our kids, our families and on our staffing, knowing that when our kids come to us in kindergarten, we're closing that gap in early childhood education."
Source:https://andylevin.house.gov/media/press-releases/levin-hosts-childcare-and-pre-k-roundtable-after-historic-passage-build-back
