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Sustainable Societies.

Research on Mother-Infant Attachment Should Guide Our Child Care Policies

Even though President Biden's "Build Back Better" legislation failed in 2021, there is a push to resurrect “core” components, including its child care plan. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), whose vote is critical to its passing, previously affirmed his support of the child care portion of the bill, allocating $400 billion to create an entitlement program to massively expand use of full-time child care. Some are celebrating. After all, this “historic, transformative investment” promises to expand child care access to “about 20 million children,” with “9 out of 10 families with children under age 6 eligible for guaranteed child care assistance,” and five million families paying nothing. Others are celebrating the creation of an entitlement child care program that promises to dramatically increase labor-force participation of mothers with young children, increasing the tax base. In Nancy Pelosi’s words, what could be a better way to get “Children learning, parents earning?”  Read More