EDITORIAL: State lawmakers take step to improve child care

May 9—A new Washington law designed to improve the accessibility and affordability of child care takes aim at a crucial issue. A lack of child care in both urban and rural areas — throughout Washington and the rest of the nation — creates financial and emotional stresses for parents while hampering the country's economic performance.

House Bill 1199 prohibits homeowner associations and landlords from banning or unreasonably restricting in-home day care operations. The fact that it had unanimous support in the House and passed the Senate by a 37-11 vote (Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, was the only member from Southwest Washington to vote in opposition) demonstrates that the issue crosses partisan divides. The fact that the law takes effect immediately — rather than after the typical 90-day waiting period — demonstrates the urgency to improve child care.

In-home child care broadens the range of providers. It especially improves access for low-income families and for children who have special needs that often are not met by large day care centers.

In addition, in-home providers often provide more flexibility for the hours of care, which is beneficial for companies that are struggling to find workers. If a work shift is from, say, noon to 9 p.m., a lack of child care availability reduces the pool of potential employees.

All of these are complex issues that require attention from Congress. The Legislature can make improvements to child care in Washington, but the problems are national in scope and affect employees — and employers — in every state.

One study last year found that the average cost of child care in Washington is more than $1,000 per child per month. That is a strong incentive for parents to stay out of the workforce.

President Joe Biden this year referred to the nation's "acute, immediate child care crisis"; there is a lack of facilities, and facilities that are in operation struggle to find employees. Those conditions have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the closure of many day care operations and led many would-be employees to leave the workforce.

On April 18, Biden signed 50 executive orders designed to increase access to child care and improve the working conditions of providers. Executive orders, however, are a poor way to formulate and enforce national policy.

The Child Care for Working Families Act was introduced by Sen. Patty Murray in 2021 but failed to advance in Congress. Now, some lawmakers are looking to reintroduce the bill, with Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., saying: "Our economy is still forcing workers to choose between their jobs and caring for their children. Whether it's a high cost of child care or preschool, the failure to properly invest in early childhood care and education continues to push millions of Americans out of the workplace."

Many of these issues could have been addressed in 1971, when Congress passed the Comprehensive Child Development Act. The legislation was vetoed by President Richard Nixon, who derided it as a "communal approach to child-rearing" that had "family-weakening implications." Since then, our nation's child care system has languished behind those in other developed nations.

In truth, affordable, accessible child care strengthens families by providing them with more economic and educational options. Washington lawmakers have taken an important step toward providing those options in our state, but broader solutions that will improve our nation still are needed.

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