AFT’s Weingarten on Trump’s Child Care Plan

WASHINGTON—In response to Donald Trump’s speech outlining his proposals for child care and maternal leave, AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump’s child care plan is a shell game. When you get under the surface, it turns out to be a tax deduction that will mainly help those who are well off enough to itemize—but won’t help middle- and low-income Americans.
 
“Here’s one example of what his tax deduction would mean in real terms: In Ohio, a middle-income family of four would save $747 in child care as a tax deduction, while a family of four making $400,000 would save $2,900.
 
“Considering that the average cost of child care in Ohio is $8,977 per child per year, Trump’s plan will save a middle-income Ohio family only 8 percent of the cost of care. And if you look under the rest of the shells in Trump’s plan, you’ll find more empty promises.
 
“Worse, since Trump is proposing to end the existing child care credits, some low-income families might get less support than they have today.
 
“Notably absent from the plan? Any talk of quality or support to ensure child care workers and early childhood educators are well-prepared and fairly paid. Kids deserve well-trained, high-quality child care workers. All too often, child care workers don’t receive the professional development they deserve and are paid poverty wages. But to Trump, that doesn’t seem to be an issue.
 
“In fact, Trump wants to erode quality and put kids’ safety at risk by calling for an end to regulation. Regulations in child care ensure commonsense safety measures are in place, like fire escapes and extinguishers, proper food storage, safe cribs for babies, and enough adults to keep an eye on the kids in their care. No family wants those safeguards dropped to save a few bucks.
 
“Trump claims that Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a plan, but he couldn’t be more wrong. Hillary is a lifelong advocate for early childhood care and education, with plans that will make a real difference in working families’ lives. She’ll create universal, free pre-K for 4-year-olds within 10 years. She’ll cap a family’s child care expenses at 10 percent of the family income. She’ll work to ensure that child care workers are well-prepared and fairly compensated, and that child care programs are safe and welcoming. She proposes paid parental leave for mothers and fathers, and guarantees it for 12 weeks, as opposed to Trump’s six weeks. It’s a serious plan to solve real challenges—not a couple bad ideas pasted together in a prime-time speech like Trump’s.
 
“Trump’s plan won’t help middle-income and poor Americans access care. It won’t ensure child care centers are safe, well-staffed or high-quality. It won’t provide child care workers a fair wage, or training and support. But none of this should surprise us from a man who thinks child care takes ‘one person or two people … some blocks … some swings and some toys.’”