Amid soaring child care costs and staff shortages, investing in child care is crucial for Rhode Island's future
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Access to affordable child care empowers women to remain in the workforce without having to worry about the quality of their children's care. When mothers are no longer forced to cut their work hours because they're unable to afford child care – or worse, remove themselves from the workforce entirely – women can sustain long-term careers that lead to better pay.
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At the same time that Rhode Island families are struggling with the cost of child care, our child care providers are facing a staffing crisis. Rhode Island child care educators, who are overwhelmingly women, and often women of color, make about $15 per hour on average. This has led many to
Fortunately, Governor Dan McKee and the General Assembly have recognized the challenges facing our state's child care sector and have made strategic investments in recent years to address access, affordability, and staffing issues. This General Assembly session, we need to expand and strengthen policies and investments we know are working. That's why the Women's Fund of Rhode Island is supporting three important pieces of legislation to strengthen our state's child care infrastructure:
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Rhode Island must trust moms so they can access the state Child Care Assistance Program. Rhode Island is one of the few states that requires mothers to pursue
Rhode Island must make its successful Child Care for Child Care Educators program permanent (
The General Assembly needs to restore $1.1 million in funding for infant/toddler child care that was left out of the proposed FY 2026 state budget (
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The
Linda Shaw and Nicholas Ventola are members of the child-care subcommittee of the Women's Fund of Rhode Island's policy and advocacy committee.
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