WASHINGTON DC – Last week, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen’s (D-NV) bipartisan Small Business Child Care Investment Act advanced out of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. This legislation would increase the availability of affordable, high-quality child care for Nevada families by allowing non-profit child care providers that qualify as small businesses greater access to Small Business Administration loan programs. A recent report labeled the entire state of Nevada as a “child care desert,” and found that nearly 75 percent of children below the age of five don’t have access to a licensed child care provider.
KLAS Las Vegas: Childcare funding bill passes out of senate committee while Nevada continues to be labeled ‘childcare desert’
Reporter: “Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen is making progress on a years-long problem. This 128-page report from the Governor’s child care working group from this year highlights that most Nevada children have parents that both work – 74 percent of them under 5 years old – do not have access to licensed child care, and the cost can often be more expensive than college tuition. This week, this non-partisan bill passed out of a senate committee. The Small Business Childcare Investment Act that would allow certain non-profits access to loans to increase childcare capabilities.”
Rosen: “We’re going to give people, give these non-profits — like I said, your local church, your Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA — the [financial] resources…”
KSNV Las Vegas: Sen. Rosen looking to expand childcare services in Nevada
Reporter: “Senator Jacky Rosen working on bipartisan legislation that would expand affordable child care here in Nevada. This comes after a recent report called our state a child care desert. The Small Business Childcare Investment Act would increase the availability of affordable child care for Nevada families.”
Rosen: “Parents want to go to work, they want to take care of their families, and they want to feel good about where they leave their kids. That’s why allowing SBA resources for nonprofits. Like I said, your church can now have access to open up childcare here. YMCA, they’re doing pop-up childcare.”
Rosen: “I’ve gone up and down Nevada. I talk to parents all the time. One of their number one worries is … the cost of child care. Can you find it? When you can find it, can you trust it? And is it affordable?”
Reporter: “[Senator Rosen] hopes to increase the amount of trusted child care centers here, and make them more affordable with her Small Business Child Care Investment Act. How will it work? She says by allowing churches, boys and girls clubs — any non-profits child care provider – access to Small Business Administration loan programs. They would then be able to qualify for these programs and have funding.”
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