Forum promotes child care as ‘essential infrastructure’

LB304 touted as one way to keep child care affordable 

  • Dena Beck, Central Region Navigator for 6 Regions, One Nebraska, speaks to community members attending the Child Care Conversation hosted March 2 by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. The lunchtime forum at the Bremer Center attracted more than 20 people to discuss ways to bolster child care options in the area for working families.
    Dena Beck, Central Region Navigator for 6 Regions, One Nebraska, speaks to community members attending the Child Care Conversation hosted March 2 by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. The lunchtime forum at the Bremer Center attracted more than 20 people to discuss ways to bolster child care options in the area for working families.

    Available and affordable child care is increasingly viewed not just as a family concern but as a key economic development issue for communities across the United States. National data show that child care costs now rival housing expenses in many areas, with the average American family spending roughly 10–20 percent of household income on care, while economists estimate that lack of reliable child …