For A Closing Act, Obama Has A Bold Plan To Transform Child Care

[applegrove]

For A Closing Act, Obama Has A Bold Plan To Transform Child Care

by Jonathan Cohn at the Huffinton Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/01/obama-childcare-proposal_n_6586644.html

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President Barack Obama has taken on some pretty ambitious projects, from overhauling health care to slowing global warming. As he comes to the end of his time in office, he’s trying for one more -- although very few people in Washington seem to have noticed, and the most important steps will probably take place after he’s left the White House.

Obama’s goal is to transform government policies for early childhood. Two weeks ago, Obama sketched out his agenda during the State of the Union address, calling for a series of programs including “universal childcare,” as well as paid family and medical leave for working parents. On Monday, Obama will translate these words into specific requests for action when the administration formally releases its budget proposal for the next 10 years.

The phrase “universal childcare” is a bit misleading, since nobody is talking about creating a vast new government program to give every American child day care. But Obama’s budget will call for a set of targeted tax breaks and spending initiatives for working families that would represent a commitment of more than $200 billion over 10 years, according to sources familiar with the budget document. (The total would be even more if you include a separate tax cut for families with two working adults, although that particular break won’t be limited to families with children.)

“We haven’t seen anything like this -- it’s big and it’s bold,” says Heather Boushey, executive director and chief economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a left-leaning economic think tank. Kris Perry, executive director of the early education advocacy program First Five Years Fund, agrees. “The latest proposal on child care has the potential to significantly influence economic policies and priorities in the next Congress,” she says.





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[tclambert]

1. Sounds almost European. Has he been talking to foreigners?

[JDPriestly]

2. I love, love, love this proposal.

Last edited Mon Feb 2, 2015, 02:50 AM - Edit history (1)

It's just great. I would like to see low-income families reimbursed for what they spend on pre-school child care provided that the care meets certain strict standards.

But this proposal is more likely to become law in the US.

Next to the health care insurance reforms, this is, in my view, the most important program that Obama is proposing.

If you don't think it is important, please go to visit the court in the nearest city to your home in which children are taken from negligent parents or caregivers and placed in foster homes. Also please visit the local penal facility for juveniles. Spend a day or two in juvenile court.

Learn about what happens to neglected and abused children. In Los Angeles, I think that the dependency court across from Cal State LA is now open to the public. I could be wrong, so check first. But more Americans need to know what is happening to our children. It is disgraceful that we do not educate parents about their responsibilities and about what children need.

Some of these courts have volunteer programs. Check it out. And I have never been a foster parent, but there is a great need for strong, compassionate foster parents. It's a difficult job. But some DUers might be good at it.

Please have a heart for abused and neglected children and also for the overwrought parents who work very hard and cannot do what they know they need to do for their children.

I strongly support Obama's proposals.

[quadrature]

3. JD ...were you child-cared when you were that age? ..nt

[JDPriestly]

4. No. I was extremely fortunate to have a loving family. My father was a minister and a social

worker. I had to do with these courts and the children in Juvenile Hall as an adult through aspects of my work.

The situation is heart-breaking. My own children were raised in an intact family. But in their early years, we lived in Austria where each child, regardless of the family's financial situation, is or was entitled to excellent pre-school education -- half-days. I firmly believe that every American child should have the same free opportunity. I think we could save a lot of money in our adult criminal system if we provided the opportunity to very young children to learn to live safely with others, to interact in a healthy, positive way with adults and other children at an early age. Many of the problems that children encounter in difficult family situations could be ameliorated (I'm thinking of the neglect and abuse) if we provided that kind of support to parents when their children are very young.

We need to do a much, much better job with our very young children.

My mother was a teacher who studied early childhood education. I was very, very blessed and I would like to share the good fortune and blessings I received as a child with other children. That is why I so strongly support President Obama's proposals regarding early childhood education.

The first two years are probably the most important in a person's life. But a lot can be done between three and six to help children feel included, accepted and positive about themselves. That can make a tremendous difference in a person's life later on. We should do all we can for our very young children. The earliest years can never be repeated. Our earliest memories and impressions of life are formed in those years. If I feel great zeal for any issue, it is this one. This is also a way that we can help children of all races and religions and backgrounds to be equipped to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to them.

[ND-Dem]

5. many of those situations could be ameliorated if families didn't live in poverty. no one wants

to fix that, though its the root of the problem

no, poverty will continue to grow, and so will the population of 'helpers'

just give me a decent paying job and quit pretending that the reason I don't have one is because I have some 'problem' that I need 'helpers' to solve. the reason I don't have one is that the economy is set up to exclude a large percent of the population from decently paid work.

[JDPriestly]

6. True. There is also a lack of dissemination to parents about the information on the needs of

very young children. We know so much. We do not make the information available.