Child Care in the U.S.

The first lady and others spoke about child care in the U.S. during a conference titled, “A Better Child for a Better America.” Mrs. Clinton talked about a previous White House conference on early learning and brain research, emphasizing the importance of high quality day care during the first three years of life. She described the urgent need for better day care facilities, particularly for low income families who often spend up to 24 percent of their income for child care. She said our society has dealt poorly with this need but described some public day care programs which are working well. The first lady announced that the Department of Health and Human Services is awarding a $500,000 grant to the Families and Work Institute, the National Governors' Association and the Finance Project to assist states in developing partnerships with the private sector. Following her prepared remarks, she took questions from the audience. close