New legislation in Olympia aims to ease the burden of child-care costs for Washington families by allowing businesses to help their employees pay for it.

Under House Bill 1564, businesses could reduce the amount they spend on business and occupation taxes by the amount they pay for child-care assistance to workers.

State Rep. Joshua Penner, R-Orting, who authored the bill, said prices for child care in the state can exceed the cost of college tuition.

"That's just a really tough position that we put our workers in," he said, "that they have to decide whether or not to be underemployed or forgo opportunities in order to get good child care."

Nearly 40% of Washington parents have reported quitting a job or being fired because of child-care challenges, costing families almost $7 billion annually in lost income. The bill was just introduced and is in the House Finance Committee.

Penner added that if a business didn't use the full tax benefit in one year, the bill would allow it to apply the remaining amount to the following year. He said he isn't worried about the potential loss of tax revenue for Washington state.

"I think nothing is more efficient than those 'B&O' taxes being directly applied to child care for the workers within that business," he said.

Washington ranks seventh, just behind Oregon, for the least affordable infant care in the country, with an average year of full-time care topping $20,000. Penner said said the bill has bipartisan support.


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May is National Foster Care Month, and Kentucky youth aging out of the system continue to experience high levels of housing instability and joblessness.

Tatum Abel, coordinator for True Up Kentucky and former foster youth, said she became homeless after she turned 18 and was unaware of the resources available to help her transition into adulthood. She says she struggled with the basics of navigating life, including having a photo I-D.

"And now that we're seeing an increase of young adults aging out without vital documents to gain employment or access resources, they're just left to fall under the rug of the system, and it's devastating," she explained.

Last year, Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., signed Senate Bill 151 into law, which aims to close the gaps in accessing additional financial support for kinship caregivers, but the lack of funding has stalled implementation. Earlier this month Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts Allison Ball filed a lawsuit over the delay.

Shannon Moody, chief policy and strategy officer with Kentucky Youth Advocates, explained that aging out of foster care without being connected to a trusted adult puts young people at risk.

"They have less access to job opportunities and are less likely to be employed, and they also have higher rates of experiencing homelessness or interactions with the criminal justice system," she explained.

Abel added that policymakers could create IDs for young people as soon as they enter foster care, to ensure they have the documents needed to drive or get a job years later.


"Giving those kids a photo ID with their information that can be linked to a Digital Backpack that keeps all of their information updated and connects them with a caseworker if that ID or that child is found," she continued.

According to 2023 data from Kentucky Youth Advocates among 21-year-olds who have experienced foster care in Kentucky, 63% reported having stable housing, 64% reported secure employment, and 16% reported college enrollment.

Predominantly free statewide child care is helping lift many New Mexico families out of poverty.

Three years ago, the state became the first in the nation to offer the program to a majority of families. Expanding on pandemic-era assistance, child care is now free for those earning up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level, or about $124,000 a year for a family of four.

Hailey Heinz, research scientist and deputy director of the Cradle to Career Policy Institute at the University of New Mexico, said without child care costs, many families are thriving instead of just surviving.

"Because child care is just so expensive that, if you do not have to pay that bill anymore, for many families this is more than $1,000 a month," Heinz pointed out. "It's helping in, families even use the phrase, 'life-changing' ways."

The Trump administration has encouraged Americans to have more children. But the U.S. has no federal, universal child care and according to UNICEF, its child care policies rank 40th among 41 high-income countries, even while costs are some of the highest in the world.

The 2022 vote amended the New Mexico Constitution, guaranteeing a right to early childhood education. Revenues to fund the program, largely from oil and gas, are distributed through the state's Land Grant Permanent Fund. Heinz noted only Vermont, which does not grapple with extreme poverty like New Mexico, has a similar program.

"We have people talking about being able to afford a reliable car," Heinz reported. "People really talking about just having a little bit of decreased stress and sort-of improved economic breathing room, just from not worrying so much about money all the time."

Geographically, New Mexico is the fifth-largest state, much of it rural and devoted to ranching with only a handful of sizable metropolitan areas. Heinz added child care affordability is better but in the long term, families said they need more caregivers to choose from.

"They see good things happening for their children's development because they're in higher-quality care, or they're able to be in care," Heinz stressed.


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Tennessee families who depend on Head Start programs for child care are watching Congress carefully, to make sure its federal funding isn't cut.

For 60 years, the Head Start program has supported children from birth to age 5 during the most critical stages of their development - as research shows 90% of a child's brain develops by age 6.

The program supports more than 15,000 children in Tennessee, and nearly 750,000 nationwide.

Johnny Nelson, Head Start program director with Save the Children Tennessee, said his organization runs six Head Start sites in five rural counties, preparing more than 320 children to start school.

"The goal that we have in our program is to ensure that all children, regardless of their circumstances, are fully prepared to enter Kindergarten," said Nelson, "and to enter Kindergarten on a level that's comparable to other children of their age and their peers."

In recent polling, four out of five voters said they support Head Start, across political lines.

While the Trump administration's current budget doesn't cut the program directly, funding delays and mixed messages this year have raised concerns.

Nelson said their program includes not just early learning, but wraparound services, too. He explained that it's a more comprehensive approach than typical day care, supporting both kids and their families.

"Our job is to come in and we provide not only the educational service," said Nelson, "but there's also mental health support, there's support with disabilities, medical, nutrition, and also family services."

Roy Chrobocinski - managing director for domestic policy with Save the Children - said Head Start is vital for low-income families, especially in rural areas where it's often the only child care option.

He said he's relieved it wasn't cut in the President's budget - but said there's still more work to do, and advocates for more funding.

"So, at current funding levels, only about 26% of families who are eligible for Head Start receive services," said Chrobocinski. "So there needs to be a significant increase in Head Start funding in order to ensure that more families who are eligible are able to participate in this kind of life-changing program."

He said his organization sees Head Start as a big part of the solution to the U.S. child care crisis, which is estimated to cost the nation's economy $122 billion a year of lost revenue.