Day care providers, parents, and advocates in the Bay Area participated in a 'Day Without Childcare' protest to highlight the urgent need for affordable child care. With many providers forced to close due to unsustainable wages and funding cuts, advocates emphasized the critical role of federal investment. They pointed out that child care costs can exceed $2,000 a month in the Bay Area, while workers often earn near minimum wage. Although recent budget proposals spared funding for Head Start, the system remains under significant pressure as it continues to recover from pandemic impacts.
The child care system is collapsing. Families can't afford it, providers can't sustain it and the workforce is disappearing. Federal investment is the only solution.
In the Bay Area, the average cost of child care can run upward of $2,000 a month for families, while many child care workers earn close to minimum wage.
This industry is run on black and brown women and we are underpaid and undervalued.
Although an internal draft budget proposed cutting the program, a recently released budget proposal from the White House reversed course and does not seek to cut Head Start funding.
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