People in our communities are doing all they can to stay afloat. Take a look at Teresa from Washington state. She is a mom and a child care provider who during the pandemic, stepped up to care for children of essential workers. 

Although Teresa’s services have been key to get parents to work while she cares for their children, the existing low wages of providers mean that she struggles to make ends meet at home. Families, and our economy, simply cannot work without child care. As part of a healthy economy, our nation must guarantee child care for every family who needs it. 

We also need to pay early care and education workers a base living wage and get to parity in compensation with K-12 teachers with similar education and experience. These workers are currently paid only $10 an hour on average for the essential work they provide, barely enough to cover the needs of their own families while they care for others. 

Our movement is calling for a long-term sustainable investment from Congress toward a child care system that provides subsidies based on the true cost of care and good wages and benefits for providers. Want to take action? Join us on May 9 for a national Day Without Child Care. Learn more at DayWithoutChildcare.org. #DayWithoutChildcare

Animation by Communications Fellow, Catherine Killough

Based on the op-ed “Support the budget resolution to ensure a critical investment in child care” originally published in The Hill by Community Change Director of Economic Justice Wendoly Marte and Executive Director of OneAmerica Roxana Norouzi