Child care has been at the top of the list of priorities for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill, now worth $1.85 trillion dollars.
Aside from just child care, the package includes paid family leave, enhanced child tax credits, and free prekindergarten.
The struggle that low income working families already deal with was magnified thanks to the pandemic. Democrats are fighting to pass the bill with Republican pushback.
For child care, families wouldn’t spend more than 7% of their income on child care. Paid time off to care for children and loved ones will exist, and would really help families struggling with balancing finances and their family obligations.
The issues surrounding child care began when men left the workforce to go to war and women needed to start working. When men returned, programs that had been created to help women balance work and child care no longer existed.
Some conservative Democrats aren’t fully on board with passing parts of the bill, and Republicans are worried that it creates a socialist type social policy.
If passed, the child care portion would be phased into existence over a three year span. First, median income families would be able to receive prekindergarten services, and families would also get subsidies to help pay for child care.
Families earning 250% of the median income by 2025 will then have the same services. States will need to opt into the program.
Related: Here are eight ways to get financial help for childcare costs as well as $8,000 in tax credits
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