Fort Worth will be the site of a roundtable highlighting the city as an innovator in early education and child care.
On Thursday, October 3, Trump Administration officials will convene a roundtable in Fort Worth with parents, and community and state leaders, including Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. The participants are expected to highlight issues relating to early education and child care issues such as how states are utilizing new federal dollars to support access to child care, and identify innovative solutions to reduce the cost of child care through public-private partnerships.
The roundtable, hosted by HHS’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is the fifth in a series of ten roundtables to be hosted nationwide as part of the Trump Administration’s larger effort to support working families by promoting access to child care, a key initiative for the administration.
“Ensuring every Fort Worth family has access to quality early childhood education and child care, regardless of zip code, is a top priority for Fort Worth. Our city is home to the second highest number of families with school-aged children in the nation and we recognize the importance of providing a strong infrastructure for working families,” said Price in a statement. “We are excited to showcase the work that has been underway for years and we believe that Fort Worth has the opportunity to be a model city for other communities where every child has a chance to succeed, families are supported and business thrive.”
Information collected during the roundtables will be used to inform federal policy proposals, technical assistance, research agendas, and strategic planning to further expand access to, and affordability of, child care.
“President Trump has made it a priority to strengthen American communities and families, and that includes a person-centered approach to providing the services that vulnerable Americans need to thrive. The roaring economy under President Trump offers a wealth of new opportunities to support one’s family and achieve independence,” Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. “HHS is committed to partnering to provide the services and supports, including child care, that can help every American prosper. Delivering those services in an effective, efficient, and personalized way requires listening to those on the ground in local communities, and that is the goal of these roundtables.”
Roundtable participants bring diverse backgrounds and a wealth of knowledge to the discussion representing a variety of employers, public and private institutions, child care providers, private foundations, parents and elected officials, according to a news release. In addition to the roundtables, a Request for Information will be published in the Federal Register to collect public input from a wide array of stakeholders.
“Since January 2017, we have made tremendous progress in implementing the President’s working family agenda, including doubling the child tax credit in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and fighting for the largest ever increase in the Child Care and Development Block Grant program as a major new investment in child care affordability,” said Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President, in a news release. “Since day one, this Administration has shown its commitment to expanding access to high quality and affordable child care and we are excited to hear from communities all across the country on additional steps we can take to further this goal.”
To see more on Fort Worth’s early childhood education programs:
www.fortworthbusiness.com/news/education_training/column-fort-worth-hailed-as-national-model-for-early-education/article_f73aaee0-2af6-11e9-bfa0-ab5b5f517a92.html