Congresswoman Clark to Reintroduce Child Care is Infrastructure Act
Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA) will reintroduce the Child Care is Infrastructure Act tomorrow, March 16, at an 11am ET press event. NCFN Co-Chair and Policy Committee Chair Nicole Barcliff will represent NCFN during the event. Access the event >
About the Child Care is Infrastructure Act
The Child Care is Infrastructure Act is a groundbreaking federal proposal that would invest $10 billion in our nation’s child care infrastructure over the next five years. The legislation takes a three-pronged approach to addressing facilities concerns:
Assessment of need. As primary providers of critical facilities financing and business capacity building services for the ECE sector, NCFN Members know that an accurate assessment of need is essential to any strategy addressing the condition, quality, and availability of ECE facilities.
Dedicated capital for infrastructure grants. Dedicated federal funding for ECE infrastructure projects is necessary for stakeholders to assemble the financing required to acquire, construct and improve the health, safety, condition and quality of indoor and outdoor spaces. NCFN enthusiastically supports the legislation’s establishment of Infrastructure Grants to Improve Child Care Safety.
Intermediary technical assistance (TA). ECE providers—who are overwhelmingly BIPOC women—operate on razor thin profit margins that leave little room to support debt on a property. These providers are consistently faced with making very difficult decisions about how to best allocate their limited resources to address facilities issues. TA is not only critical to ensuring effective navigation of construction and real estate financing but is also important to setting providers on a path to greater financial stability. The legislation makes a direct investment in intermediaries, including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), who have proven track-records providing TA to ECE providers.
NCFN has endorsed the Child Care is Infrastructure Act and will work with Congresswoman Clark to advance this important federal legislation.