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Press Releases

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) is continuing his work to support economic recovery by ensuring Arkansas families have access to child care services.

Boozman joined U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) and other colleagues to introduce the Back to Work Child Care Grants Act of 2020, legislation to assist child care providers in continuing to offer critical, affordable services for working families during the COVID-19 emergency. 

“We need to take steps to ensure caregivers can continue to provide this vital service Arkansas parents rely on. As parents seek to return to work, they need an available and safe environment to bring their children. This legislation is critical to meeting the needs of hardworking families and helping providers continue operations,” Boozman said.

A March survey of Arkansas child care centers by the National Association for the Education of Young Children found that 32 percent would not survive closing for more than two weeks without significant public investment. According to Arkansas respondents in a second survey in April, 28 percent of child care programs were completely closed and six percent open only for children of essential workers.

The Back to Work Child Care Grants Act of 2020 would provide:

Critical resources to help child care providers reopen and stay open

  • Provides nine months of financial assistance for providers to open, welcome children safely and ensure a robust child care sector is available for families;
  • Allows states to design state-specific plans to support child care centers, operators and providers in their state;
  • Sends funds to child care providers more quickly without administrative red tape.

Safe environments for children

  • Requires all providers receiving assistance to follow all state and local health and safety guidelines;
  • Requires states to ensure a diverse field of child care setting options for parents, including center-based, family child care and faith-based options.