By Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
Special to The Sacramento Bee

For many working families, access to quality child care has become an unattainable privilege, leaving parents with a difficult decision: Do they work to support their family, or stay at home to care for their kids? This dilemma is being faced by more and more California parents, struggling to cobble together whatever child care they can find. This is unacceptable, which is why I authored Assembly Bill 2292 and will be holding a rally with child care advocates and parents on Tuesday.

This bill would expand our state’s child care capacity by increasing the rates paid to providers for infant and toddler care, offering grants to help pay for new and renovated day care facilities, and establishing a fund to recruit and train a new generation of providers.

Read more here. 

A recent California Assembly bill, AB 2292, championed by Yolo County Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, proposes improvements to the child care system. By establishing the Early Education Expansion Program, the bill’s goal is to provide better access to high-quality child care and education programs for infants as well as toddlers. AB 2292 proposes to establish grant programs to fund both child care facilities and the recruitment of skilled child care workers. The bipartisan bill made it through the education committee’s hearing with unanimous support. It is now on its way to the appropriations committee.

“There is a child care crisis going on in the whole nation,” said Sandy Batchelor, the work-life coordinator at UC Davis, who works alongside student parents.

Read more here. 

AB 2292, authored by Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, passed out of the Assembly Education Committee this week on a bipartisan  7-0 vote. This bill, which would increase the reimbursement rates for infant and toddler care is a California Legislative Women’s Caucus priority for the year, and the only state budget request the caucus is backing.

The legislation also would create a grant program to help pay for new and renovated child-care facilities, and establishing a fund to recruit a new generation of providers.

Read more here.

SACRAMENTO – The statewide network of First 5s will gather May 2 at the steps of the State Capitol to honor three legislators with Champion for Children Awards as part of First 5’s 20thAnniversary celebration marking California voters’ approval of Prop 10.  Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) will deliver the keynote for the award ceremony.

Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) are backing efforts this legislative session to increase pay and recruitment of child care providers (Aguiar-Curry, AB 2292); bolster home visiting for CalWORKs families with small children (Arambula, AB 992); and advance more rigorous developmental screening practices (McCarty, AB 11). Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) will receive an award earlier in the day as a former commissioner of First 5 Sonoma County.