President Joe Biden is pushing proposals to help families pay for child care, preschool and elder care while he's running for reelection this year. He sees an opportunity to promise lower costs for voters at a time when he's facing political blowback for inflation under his watch. Many of the proposals were part of Build Back Better, the Democratic president's legislative agenda that stalled two years ago. The White House has tried to advance some of these objectives through executive orders and regulations, but more ambitious changes would have to come through legislation during a potential second term.
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FILE - Staffer Mackenzie Hunt smiles as a child raises her hand to answer a question at Living Water Child Care and Learning Center in Williamson, W.Va., Sept. 25, 2023. As President Joe Biden runs for reelection, he's resurrecting proposals to reshape American life from the cradle to the grave by lowering the cost of child care, expanding preschool opportunities and raising pay for those who care for the elderly. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden delivers remarks on proposed spending on child care and other investments in the "care economy" during a rally at Union Station, April 9, 2024, in Washington. As Biden runs for reelection, he's resurrecting proposals to reshape American life from the cradle to the grave by lowering the cost of child care, expanding preschool opportunities and raising pay for those who care for the elderly. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Molly Hillier, an instructional coach at Endeavor Elementary, greets her son Riggins, 4, at the school on Feb. 29, 2024, in Nampa, Idaho. Hillier is able to pop in to the onsite daycare and check on him throughout the day. (Carly Flandro/Idaho Education News via AP)
Children play at Endeavor Elementary's onsite daycare, which is funded through grants and parent fees, on Feb. 29, 2024, in Nampa, Idaho. (Carly Flandro/Idaho Education News via AP)
An infant plays with a toy at Endeavor Elementary's onsite daycare as former second grade teacher at the school, Billi Clark, back, watches over on Feb. 29, 2024, in Nampa, Idaho. Clark now runs the daycare. (Carly Flandro/Idaho Education News via AP)
Struggling to give teachers meaningful raises, some school districts are adding a new perk — subsidized, on-site child care for their kids. In states such as Idaho and Texas, funding for early childhood education is limited, and high-quality, affordable child care is hard to find. So by providing day care, schools hope their teachers won’t have to make the choice between career and parenthood. The American teaching workforce remains largely female, and data shows women are more likely than men to leave their careers to care for children. The child care centers fill another role, too: They help prepare little kids in the district for kindergarten.
The high costs and limited availability of quality child care are holding back American moms without college degrees. Women’s participation in the workforce has recovered from the pandemic, reaching historic highs in December. But that masks a lingering employment crisis among moms who lack a college degree. For these moms, a day without work is often a day without pay. And when they face an interruption in child care arrangements, an adult in the family is far more likely to adjust by giving up work, according to an analysis of U.S. Census survey data by The Associated Press.
Adriane Burnett poses for a photo on Saturday, April 14, 2024 in Birmingham, Ala. Women's participation in the American workforce has reached a high point, but challenges around child care are holding back many working class parents. When women without college degrees face an interruption in child care arrangements – whether it's at a relative's home, a preschool or a daycare center – they are more likely to have to take unpaid time or to be forced to leave their jobs altogether, according to an Associated Press analysis. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Adriane Burnett poses for a photo on Saturday, April 14, 2024 in Birmingham, Ala. Women's participation in the American workforce has reached a high point, but challenges around child care are holding back many working class parents. When women without college degrees face an interruption in child care arrangements – whether it's at a relative's home, a preschool or a daycare center – they are more likely to have to take unpaid time or to be forced to leave their jobs altogether, according to an Associated Press analysis. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
