Join ESCCC's Call Relay today - Monday, March 24. We need your help making three quick calls to New York State leadership, urging them to fund the child care workforce and the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). Even if the scheduled call times have passed, you can still call, leave a message, continue calling tomorrow, spread the word in your community, and call each day until the budget is finalized. Your calls can ring in a brighter future for child care in New York!
All proposals are now on the table: the Senate has proposed $500 million for the Workforce Retention Grant to support child care educators, but neither the Assembly nor Governor have committed to this crucial funding yet. The Assembly has also proposed some new funding for CCAP to help more families access child care - but, it is not enough to address the current crisis that families are facing with the CCAP shortfall. And, without workforce support, we risk losing skilled educators and worsening the staffing crisis already affecting children, families, and communities across the state.
Governor Hochul has voiced support for Universal Child Care, but to make it a reality, she, along with the Assembly and Senate, must include no less than $500 million for both CCAP to address at least some of the shortfall, and the Workforce Retention Grant in the state budget. Without it, families will lose access to care, and educators will continue to face low wages and poor working conditions.
Pick up the phone today. Your calls and this letter to lawmakers are going to be crucial in holding our leaders accountable for child care in New York.
In solidarity,
Marina Marcou-O'Malley and Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari
Co-Executive Directors, Alliance for Quality Education
No comments:
Post a Comment