The Child Care Provider Coalition of Kansas calls upon President Biden to clarify his statement from the State of the Union address on April 28, 2021:

“ Research shows when a young child goes to school, not daycare, they’re far more likely to graduate from high school and go to college, or something after high school.”

The Board of Directors and members of CCPC of Kansas request a definition of “school” versus “day care.”  We wish to understand if the President means to exclude licensed family child care providers as sources of high-quality care dedicated to the growth of young children.  Often providers’ licenses read “daycare” as mandated by their state’s regulatory statutes.  The statement made during the State of the Union address devalues and professionally attacks the contribution made by tens of thousands of providers across the nation.

In 2020 thousands of family child care providers kept their homes open to families during the most dangerous health crisis to occur in more than 100 years.  They made sacrifices during the pandemic as they helped keep their local and state economies from collapsing.  Licensed providers who strive for professionalism have always been essential to America’s success.  The most recent events highlighted their contributions.

Family child care provides safe, consistent care, setting the foundation for learning for our youngest Americans.  Many providers work to improve and strengthen their field using developmentally appropriate practice recommendations and increase their knowledge and skill through frequent training and higher education.  Their environments promote healthy living, learning, and safety while offering parental choice in decision making for each child. Licensed family child care also is the epitome of small business entrepreneurship that sustains America.

Secondly, CCPC calls upon organizations such as Child Care Aware of American(CCA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to showcase and promote the hard work contributed by family child care providers to the early childhood education field.  As professionals, providers develop their skills through training and professional development programs offered by these two organizations.  CCPC requests public advocacy and representation on family child care providers’ behalf in the process of further policy development.

We look forward to being a part of productive work going forward in the infrastructure development for the early childhood education field.