Sara Mauskopf is the co-founder and CEO of Winnie. She’s also the mom of three young children and vocal advocate for high quality child care and early education for all.
Section 1 of the executive order highlights the importance of high-quality early care and education, as well as long-term care for the nation's economic growth. It acknowledges the challenges that families face in accessing affordable, high-quality care, and the consequences for the care workforce, which is characterized by low wages and high turnover. It directs all agencies to ensure that families, including military and veteran families, have access to affordable, high-quality care while also supporting and valuing the care workforce.
Section 2 is all about the care workforce. It aims to increase compensation and improve job quality for family caregivers, early educators, and long-term care workers. Additionally, the order seeks to enhance data and information on the care workforce. These actions involve collaboration from various departments and agencies, including Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs.
Section 3 of the executive order focuses on making care more accessible and affordable for families. It directs agencies to identify funds that can be used for child care and long-term care for workers involved in federally funded projects, and to provide assistance to funding recipients. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is tasked with pursuing policies to reduce child care costs for families benefiting from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), identifying opportunities to reduce barriers to eligibility for Head Start and CCDF, and encouraging states to increase the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds for basic assistance and work supports for families.
Section 4 of the executive order aims to expand care options for families. The order also seeks to streamline funding processes for tribes, expand care services for veterans, increase private support for care providers, enhance local community capacity, and engage with stakeholders to improve federal care assistance programs.
So what does it all mean? Overall it’s a huge win! The order demonstrates a commitment to investing in the care economy at a national level. While the success of the proposed measures will depend on their implementation and funding, it’s not to be missed that this is the largest set of executive actions on care in history. Join us in celebrating this milestone 🙌 and then let’s get back to work to ensure we put these ideas into action.
Winnie is a marketplace for licensed child care and education used by millions of parents across the US.
