Today, Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, and Chief Economist of the Investing in America Cabinet Heather Boushey, alongside senior staff from the Department of the Treasury, convened child care providers, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and local and national leaders to discuss opportunities for collaboration between child care providers and CDFIs to support access to affordable, high-quality child care.

Since the beginning of the Administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have prioritized tackling the structural issues negatively impacting the child care sector, including low wages for workers, high costs for families, and inadequate supply of high-quality care. The Administration has proposed transformational investments that would guarantee affordable, high-quality child care from birth until kindergarten for low- and middle-income working families, restore the expanded Child Tax Credit, expand home and community-based services, and provide national paid family and medical leave.

In April 2023, the President signed an historic Executive Order directing nearly every cabinet-level agency to expand access to affordable, high-quality care and provide increased support for care workers and family caregivers. Over the past month, during Care Workers Recognition Month and our “Month of Action on Care,” the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions pursuant to the Executive Order, including: new funding opportunities from the Small Business Administration to support small business providing care and the creation of a child care business development guide; funding opportunities and new resources encouraging the use of supportive services, including care, for equitable workforce development; and the issuance of two final rules to improve access to safe, reliable, high-quality long-term care.

Today, building on these efforts, pursuant to the President’s Executive Order, the White House and the Department of the Treasury convened stakeholders to discuss challenges faced by child care businesses, such as barriers to securing financing and opportunities to support care providers, including pathways to access capital.  The convening highlighted ways in which they can collaborate with CDFIs for support—bringing awareness to challenges and opportunities faced by both child care businesses and CDFIs and forging cooperation in pursuit of supporting access to affordable, high-quality care.

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