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Our scorecards show which elected leaders have voted for or against child care policies and our communities’ needs. Use this information to hold them accountable, to demand they vote yes for childcare, or organize to vote them out if they do not.
SCORECARD 2020
Scores for current elected officials based on their actions in 2020, primarily their positions on the Childcare For Working Families Act, the Childcare is Essential Act, and highlighting support of $100B relief in the House.
Scores also reflect the equity impact of officials’ actions. For example, “Back to Work Childcare Grants,” introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst, are an investment in child care, but they would create another disadvantage to low-income providers largely of color who may be at greatest financial risk of closing due to COVID-19.
THE U.S. SENATE
THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
POLICY EXPLANATION
The Child Care for Working Families Act (CCWFA)
Policy Summary: The CCWFA is federal legislation that would: Provide sufficient funding to create an entitlement to subsidized child care for low and moderate income families; Create a sliding scale for family copayments, so no family pays more than 7% of their income for child care; Establish a minimum living wage for child care workers,and invest in professional development for early care providers. CCWFA Status: Introduced in 2019, and reintroduced in 2021, neither chamber has brought it to a vote. Bipartisan support through cosponsorship.
The Child Care is Essential Act (CCEA)
Policy Summary: The CCEA is federal legislation introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that would provide $50 billion to states to support child care providers who are both open or temporarily closed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, to stabilize the child care sector. Grants would be based on providers' operating costs and would be designed to reduce parent copays for families struggling to afford care. Grants would also provide for the increased costs associated with operating child care programs safely during the pandemic and could be used to fund hazard pay for child care workers. CCEA Status: House approved July 2020, but Senate did not call Senate version to a floor vote. The provisions of the CCEA were largely included in two separate bills passed to provide pandemic relief, including $10 billion in December 2020 and $40 billion in the American Rescue Plan passed in March 2021.
CRITERIA
1) CHILD CARE CHAMPION
A Member of Congress who championed our child care cause before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A "Child Care Champion" is someone who recognizes that equitable investment in child care is key to addressing racial and gender justice issues and to addressing the low-wages faced throughout the child care workforce. A champion must have actively called for a COVID-19 relief package that meets the scale of our crisis, of at least $50 billion for child care. A Champion demonstrated their commitment to these values by:
- Co-sponsoring the Child Care for Working Families Act, OR
- Co-sponsoring the Child Care is Essential Act, OR
- Signing onto a letter in support of a $100B (House) relief package for childcare, OR
- - Authoring a piece of childcare legislation that addresses the uneven crisis caused by COVID -19 pandemic, centering expanding access, equitable investment, and/or dignified wages for the childcare workforce.
2) SUPPORTER
A member of Congress who demonstrated their public support for an equitable child care system before and during the COVID-19 pandemic by:
- Co-sponsoring the Child Care for Working Families Act, OR
- Co-sponsoring the Child Care is Essential Act, AND
- Voting for the Child Care is Essential Act.
3) NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
A member of Congress who demonstrated insufficient support for an equitable child care system by:
- Voting “yes” for the Child Care is Essential Act, but NOT signing on as a co-sponsor before the vote, AND
- Failing to sign on as a co-sponsor for the Child Care for Working Families Act, AND
- Refusing to call for relief of at least $50 billion for child care and center equitable investment and racial justice in their policy ideas, regardless of their support for some child care investments.
4) FAILS OUR FAMILIES
A member of Congress who voted against child care funding before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. This person has demonstrated their opposition to our values by:
- Voting against the Child Care is Essential Act,
- Blocking the introduction of the Child Care is Essential Act in their Chamber.
Our movement is fighting for affordability for parents, stability for providers, and living wages for the Early education and care workforce. This fight, and this movement, is for the long haul.
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