Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King joined a bipartisan group of 23 of their colleagues in urging Senate leadership to provide additional support for the child care sector in future COVID-19 relief legislation. 

“In many states, child care providers have been forced to close their doors.  Other child care providers are continuing to operate, despite financial losses, to provide support to parents, especially our essential workers,” the Senators wrote.  “As Congress considers the next round of relief legislation, we urge leadership to build on its efforts to provide more support for child care so we can effectively serve the needs of essential workers in the short term, and ensure that parents can return to work as our economy recovers.”

"MaineAEYC is grateful for the bipartisan leadership of Senator Collins and Senator King, who recognize child care professionals as essential to our economy and our communities. We are proud to have Maine’s Senators speaking out about the need to provide dedicated support for child care in response to COVID-19," said Tara Williams, Executive Director of Maine Association for the Education of Young Children.

Last month, Senators Collins and King announced nearly $11 million to the State of Maine to provide child care assistance for low-income families, health care sector employees, first responders, sanitation workers, and other workers deemed essential, and to support child care providers. This funding was authorized by the CARES Act. 

Click HERE to read the full letter.