Davids Helps Introduce Child Care for Working Families Act to Tackle Affordability Crisis

This week, U.S. Representative Sharice Davids joined Members of Congress from both chambers in reintroducing the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to make high-quality child care more affordable and accessible for families across the country. It supports pre-K programs, strengthens wages for child care workers, and invests in Head Start.

“As someone raised by a single mom who often worked more than one job, I know how essential reliable, affordable child care is to working families,” said Davids. “Across Kansas and the country, parents are being forced to make impossible choices — between paying the bills and finding care for their kids. This bill addresses the child care crisis head-on and gives parents the tools they need to succeed and keep working.”

Nationwide, the cost of child care has skyrocketed — rising 29 percent since 2020, outpacing inflation. The average annual cost of child care now exceeds $13,000, placing enormous pressure on families. In Kansas and nearly every other state, those costs exceed rent or even in-state college tuition. The child care crisis is not only a burden for families, but also for the economy, costing the U.S. over $100 billion per year in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.

The Child Care for Working Families Act would:

• Cap child care costs at 7 percent of a family's income, with many paying significantly less or nothing at all.
• Expand access to high-quality child care and pre-K programs nationwide.
• Increase wages for child care and Head Start workers.
• Stabilize the child care sector and support full-day, full-year programming.

Davids has made child care a cornerstone of her work in Congress, introducing her own legislation — the Affordable Child Care Act — to support early learning and boost supply. She has also secured investment funding for Kansas child care providers and continues to advocate for working parents at the federal level.

But while Davids is working to lower costs, recent actions by the Trump Administration have only worsened the child care crisis. The administration has gutted oversight of the federal child care office, delayed disbursement of key child care and Head Start funds, and forced massive holes in state budgets, which include drastic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. These harmful decisions are forcing states to consider pulling back on their own investments in child care, right as families need them most.

To read the bill text, click here. To read the fact sheet, click here. To read the section-by-section, click here.