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Senator Gray-Jackson Attends the White House States Convening on Child Care
ANCHORAGE – Yesterday, Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson (D-Anchorage) attended the White House States Convening on Child Care to discuss child care policies throughout the nation. The meeting will helped support legislators’ work to make child care more affordable and accessible for working families, increase child care employment, and improve job quality for child care workers.
“Access to child care is not only an issue facing Alaska families, but working families throughout the nation. It’s contributing to labor shortages because families cannot find affordable options, if options are even available,” said Sen. Gray-Jackson. “I am glad our federal administration is taking this issue seriously, and I am honored to be invited and be part of such an undertaking to find solutions for Alaska families.”
Earlier this month, Governor Dunleavy’s Child Care Task Force identified that the cost, staffing, and licensing were all obstacles facing access to child care for Alaska. Lack of child care access affects about 61% of Alaska families, impacting 88,000 children. In 2020, the average cost of child care was around $11,700 annually. To help alleviate the lack of affordable access, the Alaska Senate appropriated $7.5 million last legislative session for child care services.
The States Convening on Child Care focused on creating avenues for access. Some notable discussions centered around workforce retention, increasing pay for child care workers, capping child care copayments, improving financial stability, and providing paid family and medical leave of up to 20 weeks. A group of sixty lawmakers from 41 states attended yesterday’s event.
“There is never a one-trick fix to major issues we face. It takes a broad spectrum of ideas and individuals with different perspectives to reach our goals,” continued Sen. Gray-Jackson. “I look forward to the work that will take place leading up to the next legislative session to make progress on expanding access to child care for Alaskans.”
Senator Gray-Jackson will work with stakeholders and other policymakers leading up to the next legislative session on the ideas and policies presented at the meeting and other policy options to move forward with solutions to expand access to child care. The next legislative session convenes on January 16, 2024.
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