FFYF & Bipartisan Pre-K and Child Care Caucus Host “Child Care Means Business” Event

On June 4th, First Five Years Fund, in conjunction with the Bipartisan Pre-K and Child Care Caucus, hosted lawmakers, bipartisan Congressional staffers, and early learning advocates for a “Child Care Means Business” event in the House Ways and Means Committee room. Attendees heard from Caucus co-chair Rep. Joaquin Castro and Ranking Member of Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare Rep. Danny Davis. 

Child care challenges are business challenges: for manufacturers, small businesses and larger corporations, restaurants, and the many child care providers in this country who are trying to run their business on razor thin margins.

And the child care community means business in advocating for change! 

The event was an opportunity for lawmakers, staff and advocates to discuss improvements which would strengthen America’s child care system while benefiting working families, young children, and businesses. Robust federal funding is essential to strengthening child care in the United States, but updating provisions of the federal tax code is also an important part of the solution. This includes:

• Updating federal tax code provisions designed to help offset the high cost of child care.
  • The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), the only tax credit designed specifically to help parents offset the cost of child care. 
  • The Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP), which allows some working parents to set aside a small amount of their pre-tax paycheck to pay for child care expenses (including employer-sponsored child care contributions). 
  • The Employer-Provided Child Care Credit (known as 45F), which supports businesses who want to locate or provide child care for their workforce, while also increasing the number of child care slots available in their community.  

Click here to learn about legislation to modernize the tax code in the 118th Congress.