Date: 1998-03-18
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr.. Speaker. I rise today in celebration of Womens History Month and would like to call special attention to the current status of child care in our country. Today more parents work outside the home than ever before. More than 75 percent of mothers with children ages 6 through 17 are in the work force. More than 60 percent of mothers with children under the age of 6 are employed in addition. Changes in the welfare system set such strict work requirements. which means that parents must find jobs or leave public assistance. Child care costs can be prohibitive. Consequently it was a reason why many mothers did not work. Currently fullday child care can cost between $4.000 and $10.000 per year. The expense of child care becomes even a greater issue of concern once we consider the fact that nearly half of the parents with young children earn $35.000 a year or less. Even families with two working parents working fulltime at minimum wage. the parents earn only about $21.000 annually. and that is gross income. The importance of quality child care cannot be ignored. Research shows that good child care programs can affect childrens longterm success in school and their learning potential as adults. In addition. brain development research shows that an adverse environment in the first 3 years of life can compromise a childs brain function and overall development. With all of this information. it is troubling that according to recent studies. the quality of child care is rated mediocre to poor. In many cases. parents are able to use relatives. But such care is not always available or preferable. Often there are no relatives living close by. or nearby relatives are working.or are unable to meet the demands of a caregiver for a young child. In recent times. businesses have made efforts to help their employees find and pay for child care. but such help is still scarce. Businesses account for only 1 percent of the total child care expenditures. In January. President Clinton announced a historic initiative to improve child care for Americas working families. The initiative proposes $21.7 billion over 5 years for child care- to help working families pay for child care. build a good supply of afterschool programs. improve safety and quality of care and promote early learning. This initiative is an important start to our providing new resources and building on existing State efforts to address child care trends. Now it is up to my colleagues here in Congress to strengthen this proposal and enact a child carepackage that ensures quality. affordable child care for every family who needs it. Last month the First Lady. Hillary Rodham Clinton. visited a child care center in my district. During her tour of the center. Mrs. Clinton was able to learn more about the relationshipcentered child care model. This nationally acclaimed model of care employs the unique concept of small. family groups of children who are with the -same teacher over time so that they grow with better reading. math. language and interpersonal skills. I believe that relationshipcentered child care has the potential to be the benchmark for child care in America. It is my hope that the model program will expand to include more of Americas children and families.