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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 12, 2023 11:40 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Melissa Cerrato and Rep. Tarik Khan, Rep. Brian Munroe, Rep. Paul Friel |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Increasing Availability of Emergency Childcare in Pennsylvania |
| Currently, child care in Pennsylvania is scarce and expensive, and the issue is more acute for parents who suddenly face an emergency and need child care. Emergency child care facilities provide respite care for children when a parent faces a crisis, such as a medical emergency, unsafe child care options, or any other situation that jeopardizes a child’s welfare and cannot look after their child. These facilities can be crucial to helping to prevent child neglect and abuse. Unfortunately, nearly 60 percent of Pennsylvanians live in areas without sufficient child care, and there are only 13 facilities that provide emergency child care. Complicating the issue further, the regulations which govern child care facilities do not specifically address emergency child care, and this limits the state’s ability to fund the programs. We plan to introduce a resolution that would direct the Joint State Government Commission to study emergency child care and make recommendations about how to expand availability and access in the Commonwealth. This study will help clarify the needs of facilities that provide emergency child care and provide insight into how other states have supported the expansion of these facilities. With this information, the General Assembly will be better informed on the appropriate legislative options to expand the availability to this much-needed resource. Please join us in sponsoring this resolution which will improve emergency child care options in Pennsylvania. |
Introduced as HR219