(NewsNation) — Many factors make it more challenging for people to cast their vote, like restrictive voting laws, jobs, health and lack of child care. To alleviate at least one of those factors, one group is making an effort to provide free child care so parents and guardians can go vote.
The group, called Politisit, has a mission to increase civic engagement for parents by paying for their child care throughout the country. Politisit helps provide free child care for voters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Austin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
During the 2020 election, the organization says it was able to help at least 20 families.
The help comes at a time when it is desperately needed. According to Child Care Aware of America, about 15,856 child care centers closed from December 2019 to March 2021. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, since February of 2020, about 102,400 child care jobs have disappeared. The lack of child care and rising costs due to inflation have made it more difficult for families to find child care they can afford.
“Parents continue to face the challenge of finding and affording high-quality child care,” said Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., CCAoA Chief Executive Officer. “Recent public investments in child care have been a lifeline and helped keep programs open. But robust, long-term public support is needed to make child care affordable for families and ensure more children have access to high-quality early learning experiences to prepare them for success in school and beyond.”
That is why Politisit says it’s so important that parents and guardians in these circumstances get out to vote.
“We know that a lot of parents say they have been able to be involved when they haven’t been able to otherwise, and we now get to hear these voices and our hope is that extends to the ballot box. And we hear those votes as well,” says Emily Teixeira, executive director of Politisit.
0 Comments