Rhode Island and the nation are facing the unprecedented impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These are difficult and uncertain times for everyone, including Rhode Island’s workforce of approximately 3,000 early childhood educators who work in child care programs across the state.
On March 15th, Governor Raimondo asked that all Rhode Island child care centers close to help limit community spread of the coronavirus. Our child care programs have complied with this request and it is not yet clear when they will be able to reopen. Rhode Island child care programs are committed to making sure it is safe for their staff, their staff’s families, and for the families of the children they serve before they resume regular operations.
This situation is creating a crisis for our child care programs, our early childhood and afterschool educators, and working families across the state.
Without immediate state and federal action, short-term closures of child care programs may turn into permanent closures. This will have devastating impacts on early childhood and afterschool educators, many of whom make less than $12 per hour, and our state’s ability to provide high quality, affordable child care options to working families.
We need your help! Contact your federal and state legislators today!
Contact Congress – As Congress considers a far-reaching economic stimulus package in response to this crisis, click here to contact your lawmakers in Washington and urge them to include robust support for the industry that makes it possible for millions of working parents to go to work each day: child care.
Contact Rhode Island State Legislators – Click here to contact your Rhode Island state legislators. Urge them to support the RIght from the Start agenda including $7.5 million to increase funding for the Rhode Island Child Care Assistance Program to meet federal standards and the Early Educator Workforce Investment Act to develop a plan to raise wages for our early childhood educators.
We will get through the coronavirus pandemic! With your help our early childhood educators and child care centers will come through ready to once again serve Rhode Island’s working families and ALL of our kids who deserve to get off to the right start in life.
Thank you!
RIght from the Start
