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Date: Friday, Oct. 3, 1997 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215
The contract was awarded to the Finance Project, with technical support from the Families and Work Institute and the National Governors' Association.
"Quality child care is critical to the success of welfare reform and to our continuing effort to help America's working families," Shalala said. "This Administration is committed to creating effective working relationships between the public and private sectors to meet that need."
The Finance Project will identify and track existing practices, develop written technical assistance materials, and produce a quarterly bulletin, designed to inform the business community on possibilities and alternatives for expanding child care services. They will also develop plans for a national conference in the summer of 1998.
In part, this new project builds on the Clinton Administration's commitment under welfare reform to ensuring safe, accessible, and affordable child care for low-income families. As a result of the President's efforts, federal child care funding has increased by about 68 percent since 1993, and at the President's urging, the new welfare law increased child care funding by nearly $4 billion over six years, providing child care assistance to low-income working families and parents moving from welfare to work.
In addition, on March 25, 1997, Secretary Shalala announced that Head Start expansion funds will be used for the first time to build partnerships with child care providers to deliver full-day and full-year Head Start services, which can help parents attain full-time work.
To increase available resources for child care, the Clinton Administration is encouraging private sector support through public-private partnerships. Many states and localities have already begun effective collaborations, including child care business summits and commissions, child care investment funds, and loan programs for child care providers. The technical assistance initiative announced today will build on the lessons learned from these efforts.
The Finance Project is an independent, gateway.html organization established in 1994 to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of financing of children's services. It is based in the District of Columbia.