{"id":40211,"date":"2024-02-29T10:17:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T19:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threadalaska.org\/thread\/policy-and-research\/mixed-delivery-copy-2\/"},"modified":"2024-03-06T15:07:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T00:07:48","slug":"talking-points-for-2024-legislative-policy-ask","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.threadalaska.org\/thread\/policy-and-research\/talking-points-for-2024-legislative-policy-ask\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Points for 2024 Legislative Policy Ask"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Talking Points for thread’s 2024 Legislative Policy Ask<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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As child care businesses continue to close, staff turnover remains high, and the cost of care for families grows, sustainable state funding for the child care sector in Alaska is desperately needed. That’s why thread<\/strong>, along with our partners at the Alaska Early Childhood Advocacy Group (AECAG) have come together to ask the Alaska Legislature for a $30.5 million dollar increase to the operating budget Child Care Benefits line item. This money will got to support child care programs, early educators, and families across Alaska. Please consider the talking points below and send a message to Senators on the Finance Committee encouraging support for an additional state investment to our struggling child care system.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Child care is critical infrastructure in Alaska and needs additional, long-term and sustainable investment in order to stabilize, strengthen and grow. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The child care sector in Alaska remains fragile and without sustained funding, will likely see continued challenges including workforce shortages and program closures. In the last four years, Alaska has seen over 20% of licensed child care programs close. This has left the sector with increased demand for quality child care to support families. Of those that are open, most are struggling with recruiting and retaining a qualified workforce. The child care workforce is paid some of the lowest wages in Alaska and many do not receive paid benefits. With a workforce shortage across the state and in most sectors, this makes competition in the child care sector even greater.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Child care is an industry that has long struggled as a business model and the last several years have made the sectors challenges worse. With an extreme workforce shortage, high costs for families and inability to maintain solvent business operations, the child care sector needs state investment. Child care costs have exceeded inflation over the last three years and is unaffordable for most families. Families are now spending on average more than 15% of their household income. For single parent families, this expense is much more. Similarly, child care businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Unable to fully staff their classrooms, programs are unable to fully enroll creating a gap in the tuition income thy rely on to meet operating expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thread <\/strong>advocates for an additional State investment of $30.5M for the child care sector. An additional $30.5M would match what is already invested in child care and would provide consistent funding to ensure the child care sector survives and can grow to meet the needs of Alaskan families. Alaska invests very little in early childhood education and this investment would create stabilizing resources to support child care to fully recover post pandemic and create infrastructure to allow the child care sector to grow to meet family\u2019s needs for more access to affordable and high quality child care.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our ask: $30.5M increase to the Child Care Program Office (CCPO) Operating Budget in the Department of Health. This would ensure:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Small Businesses\/Programs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

$10M for payments to child care programs to support stable operations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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