Alexander: Bill Passed by Labor Committee "Will Help Tennessee Families Choose the Child Care That Suits Their Needs”
In Tennessee in 2010, approximately 29,000 families with nearly 53,000 children were helped by the child care block grant program
***
"This legislation puts vouchers in the hands of many working mothers so they can make their own decisions about what child care suits their needs the best.” – Lamar Alexander
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 - The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate labor committee released the following statement on passage of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2013 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee:
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said: “For working mothers especially, child care can be the most difficult obstacle to organize very busy lives. This law puts in the hands of many working mothers vouchers so they can make their own decisions about what child care suits their needs the best. In Tennessee in 2010, there were approximately 29,000 families with nearly 53,000 children helped by this program.”
The Child Care Development Block Grant Act – sponsored by Senators Alexander, Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), and committee chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) - will reauthorize and update the child care grant program, which gives grants to states to help low-income working families pay for child care, mainly through vouchers that let them choose the best facility for their children, while the parent works or attends school. In 2010, Tennessee received $48 million from this block grant and, in combination with other federal and state funds, was able to provide child care vouchers to approximately 29,000 families for nearly 53,000 children.
# # #
