Issued September 14, 2016
WASHINGTON – In response to Donald Trump’s speech on child care, Faith Arnold, owner, director and teacher at Sun Children, Inc. in Bellwood, Ill., and co-chair of the early learning division of the executive board of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, issued the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s child care proposal shows yet again that he is completely out of touch with working parents and child care providers like me.
“In every single state, child care for an infant and a four-year-old, on average, costs more than rent or a mortgage. The parents who bring their children to my day care every day are trying to stretch their paychecks to pay for necessities, including child care—and they are not alone. They need affordable, high-quality child care now, not another tax scheme that focuses on helping the very richest who need it the least.
“Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has pledged to make sure no family pays more than 10 percent of its income on child care. Clinton’s plan will actually make child care more affordable so parents can get to work and raise their families. Hillary recognizes the value of care work in our nation, including the value of child care providers who help educate our future generations.
“Trump not only doesn’t value us, he ignores that that the child care crisis is twofold: Underpaid working parents can’t afford quality child care and child care providers like me can’t afford the basics for our own families.
“I’ve been a child care provider for more than 15 years and I love what I do. I care for, educate and nurture our youth, and prepare them for school and beyond. But after so many years in child care, I am still only paid $4.50 an hour after my expenses. We need better pay so we can do our best at work without worrying about keeping our lights on and keeping food in the refrigerator.
"As a child care provider and executive board member of SEIU HCMIIK, I know that we need a president like Hillary Clinton who has been a leader on family and child care issues her entire life. She is the only candidate with a real plan to solve the child care crisis by making child care more affordable for parents and raising pay for child care providers. That's why child care providers are turning out in full force this election. We are turning out our co-workers, parents and neighbors to the polls to make sure we elect Hillary Clinton in November."