Sen. DiDomenico pushes his legislation to expand childcare access

Special to The Advocate

Senator Sal DiDomenico recently spoke at a State House advocacy day for his bill, S.341, An Act expanding access to family, friend, and neighbor-provided childcare. There is a high demand for childcare in our state, but many parents face a limited supply of childcare centers and educators. Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) childcare providers fill a major role in childcare services for many families across the state. However, less than one percent of state childcare subsidy funding goes to these FFN providers and the parents and children that rely on them. The Senator’s legislation would address this issue by increasing state financial support to FFN childcare providers so that the most vulnerable families can access these key services and the providers can get paid more livable wages.

“Every family in our state will need childcare at some point and this bill presents a rare win-win-win solution which would increase access to childcare for parents, raise wages for providers currently paid far too little, and reduce the strain on our state’s childcare facilities,” said Senator DiDomenico. “I want to thank Community Labor United and all the advocates, parents, and childcare providers who came to the State House to advocate for this critical proposal. I will not stop fighting for this legislation until it is passed into law.”