Promote the value of work to include areas that have been traditionally devalued, including service industry jobs, child and eldercare, and teaching
A nation’s strength is measured not only by its wealth, but by how it cares for its families and children. Yet in America, new parents are forced back to work too soon, childcare costs more than rent, parents juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet, teachers scrounge to provide their students with supplies, and millions must choose between caring for their children or keeping their jobs. This is not support—it is neglect.
No parent should have to sacrifice their entire income to raise a child. No child should be denied care because their family and teacher cannot afford it.
A society that invests in families and children invests in its future. Nations with paid leave and childcare see stronger economies, healthier children, and greater workforce participation. Supporting parents and teachers is not a burden; it is the foundation of prosperity.
Project 2029 ardently supports guaranteeing paid leave for new parents, funding affordable childcare initiatives, and providing support for teachers so they can supply their students with what they need. Most critically, we believe in supporting mothers by providing pregnancy support, making postpartum care accessible, facilitating child development, and offering resources for long-term family support.
Project 2029 is committed to supporting policies that recognize child care as essential economic infrastructure and value the workforce that provides it, including:
Direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to rescind Reduction in Force orders that cut Administration for Children and Families (ACF) staff by 45 percent and eliminated the entire Social Services Block Grant team, and conduct an expedited review to restore positions critical to child care program administration, paired with an updated appropriations request to Congress to sustain the restored workforce.
Withdraw the proposed rule rescinding the 2024 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations, and issue guidance reaffirming the 7 percent family copayment cap, grant and contract-based service delivery, and enrollment-based rather than attendance-based provider payment.
Direct HHS to use existing Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) authority to fund wage supplements and retention incentives for early care educators, who are compensated at lower rates than 97 percent of all professions, by creating a dedicated CCDBG wage-increase pool separate from existing subsidy funds.
Expand CCDF eligibility thresholds via administrative guidance to reach middle-income families currently excluded from assistance, restoring a lever the current administration has moved to roll back.
Direct the Department of Labor to classify child care workers as a priority sector for Fair Labor Standards Act wage theft and misclassification audits, since family child care providers are frequently classified as independent contractors to avoid providing benefits.
Direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop sector-specific health and safety standards for child care workers, who currently fall under general industry standards with no child care-specific protections and are only covered piecemeal through interpretation letters like the bloodborne pathogens standard.
Direct the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau to publish a national care economy wage gap report on Day One, building on its existing county-level child care price research, to establish the evidence base for downstream legislation.
Direct the General Services Administration to assess and implement federal building space allocation for child care centers serving federal workers and surrounding communities, using the existing statutory hook under the Trible Amendment, which currently authorizes but does not require implementation. A Day One executive order must direct actual implementation rather than just assessment.
Direct the Department of the Treasury to issue guidance treating child care cooperatives as eligible entities under the newly expanded Section 45F Employer-Provided Child Care Credit, which now allows shared and multi-employer intermediary models but lacks Treasury guidance on how cooperative structures qualify.
Coordinate with the Department of Labor to expand workforce development pathways into the child care sector, including registered apprenticeships, credentialing programs, and partnerships with community colleges and workforce boards.
Support the bipartisan Child Care Workforce Act and the Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act, which would create pilot grant programs to supplement low-wage child care workers' pay and pair workforce investment with physical infrastructure funding.
Draw on state and local models, including New Mexico's income-universal free child care program, and New York City and New York State's partnership to fund free child care for two-year-olds, as proof of concept for federal action.
