Philadelphia – Last week in Philadelphia, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis led a roundtable conversation with business leaders, parents and providers, where he discussed his own experience as a new dad and highlighted how the Shapiro-Davis Administration is working to lower costs for Pennsylvania families.
Check out some of what folks are seeing about the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s focus on lowering costs and delivering for Pennsylvanians.
From City & State PA:
Tiana Williams, a Philadelphia mother whose son is in his second year of Pre-K Counts – a [state] program that provides no-cost pre-kindergarten education for eligible children ages 3 to 5 – at the Roxborough YMCA, said safety and learning are the two biggest concerns parents have when it comes to finding child care.
Moms want “to feel that their children are safe and they’re learning,” Williams said during the discussion. “The early years are super important, so (moms) talk about having a safe space for their children and where they are learning, growing and thriving.”
The bipartisan 2024-25 state budget recently signed by Governor Josh Shapiro includes a new tax credit for employers that contribute to their employees’ childcare costs, as well as an additional $15 million for the Pre-K Counts program and $2.7 million more for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance program.
From The Keystone:
“This tax credit acknowledges that both parents and employers have a vested interest in making child care more affordable and accessible in Pennsylvania,” [state Sen. Judy] Schwank said in a statement. “The bipartisan support of this proposal is what allowed it to be included in the tax code, as we’ve really built consensus around the need for quality child care.”
All of this work builds on the significant progress the Shapiro-Davis Administration made last year to relieve the burden of childcare costs for working parents when Gov. Shapiro signed into law an expansion of the state’s childcare tax credit for more than 200,000 families in Pennsylvania and increased funding for Child Care Works by $66.7 million to provide 75,000 low-income families with affordable and accessible childcare.
See what else Pennsylvanians are reading and watching about the Lieutenant Governor’s childcare roundtable:
City & State PA: At Philly Y, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Early Learning Investment Commission, spotlight child care barriers in PA
KYW: Pennsylvania families face challenges finding affordable, quality child care
Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis seeks Philly’s advice on how to better address the cost, accessibility of childcare
The Keystone: Shapiro administration offers tax credits to employers for helping with child day care costs
WHTM: Child care investments