Allison Fine’s Plan for Childcare Crisis Facing Working Parents

Sleepy Hollow, NY -- Allison Fine, Congressional candidate for NY CD-17, today released several groundbreaking childcare strengthening policies in light of the crisis in care caused by the pandemic.

"As a working mother of three children, I know the struggle for every parent trying to piece together childcare," said Fine. "Some of the most overwhelmed people during this crisis have been parents trying to work from home while also trying to home school their children. And now many parents are being required to go back to work while schools, many childcare centers and camps are closed."

Parents are being forced to choose between keeping their jobs and keeping their kids safe. The lack of attention to this problem, and the lack of resources, is reflective of an entire system that overlooks the cost and difficult of childcare.

Fine said, "I'm concerned that some parents will have no choice but to leave their children home alone without supervision or risk losing their jobs and income. This is what happens when public policy is driven by people who are primarily focused on the health of businesses instead of families. This is not a time for small ideas or petty politics. We need to put families first in rebuilding our economy."As a member of Congress, Fine pledged to champion the following legislation to provide more support for working parents:

1. Universal childcare. Creation of a nationwide network of local, for- and nonprofit childcare centers that are subsidized with a sliding scale fee basis. Nobody should make too little to afford safe, quality daycare.
2. Paid family leave providing more flexibility for parents to care for their families.
3. Overhaul and expand the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account program. This will allow parents to pay for daycare expenses with pre-tax dollars, thereby lowering out-of-pocket costs substantially. The current system is not offered by all employers, and is inadequate to the needs of most families. Increasing the limits, removing burdensome rules, and expanding a public option will afford all families the same opportunity, regardless of employer.

About Allison:

An author, social change thought leader, and nonprofit founder, Allison knows how to move everyone in our communities toward greater fairness and opportunity. She was instrumental in creating the field of online activism and has written three books on the topic. She has worked tirelessly throughout her career to help grassroots organizations working in areas such as housing, food security, immigration and women’s issues achieve their missions.

Allison is the past president of Temple Beth Abraham, in Tarrytown, NY. She is a former faculty member of the Union of Reform Judaism and current member of the UJA-Westchester Regional Advisory Council.

As leader in the fight for women’s reproductive freedom, Allison was most recently the chair of the national board of NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. She is also the founder of the Network of Elected Women, helping women elected to local offices around the country achieve their goals.

As an entrepreneur, Allison is the founder of Innovation Network, Inc. which improves the work of grassroots organizations in areas such as homelessness, women’s health, immigration, legal aid and environmental advocacy.

Allison is also a founding board member of Civic Hall, pre- eminent organization using technology for social good.

Allison grew up in and lives now in Sleepy Hollow, NY, is married to Scott Freiman and is raising three sons in the Rivertowns (in NY 17).

For more information, visit www.alisonefine2020.com

AIM HIGH · CHOOSE FINE