WEST GOSHEN >> State Rep. Carolyn Comitta, D-156, hosted legislators from all over the state to discuss H.B. 2035, which would provide a tax deduction for the cost of child care.
Last week, Comitta was joined at the West Goshen Township Building by the House Democratic Policy Committee and its Chairman Mike Sturla, D-96, along with local child care advocates.
Comitta’s bill would offer tax relief, dollar for dollar, for eligible families, up to $10,000.
“All families deserve access to safe, reliable, quality care for their children,” Comitta said. “That care can get costly and I believe that offering tax relief up to $10,000 would provide a great benefit to working families.
“I am thrilled that the House Democratic Policy Committee came to West Chester to discuss my legislation that might positively impact families across the state.”
Comitta said that Chester County residents are “blessed” with wonderful child care options.
“There are concerns about the cost,” Comitta said, “The state could make it just a little bit easier.”
One of the bill’s main goals is to give children a great start in life.
“Giving parents a tool that will help them afford quality child care is an important component to our plan,”Sturla said. “When parents pay for child care, it’s so much more than a babysitter.
“It’s an investment in their child’s future. Rep. Comitta’s bill is a simple concept that could make a big difference in the lives of Pennsylvania families.”
The panel interviewed Andrea Youndt, senior vice president and chief operating officer to the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, and Bill Shoffler, Bucks County Coordinator for Pre-K for Pennsylvania Campaign, and Campaign for Fair Education Funding, Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
Youndt said the Brandywine YMCA oversees seven YMCA sites, with 650 children aged from newborns to 5 years old. The YMCA is the largest provider of child care in the state.
Youndt said it is difficult finding enough qualified staff and to keep the quality of care high with high employee turnover rates.
“We don’t want a child to not be in the program, however we have to invest more into the right resources as to what children need,” she said. “We believe in nurturing the potential of every child — to reach their potential.
“Better salaries would keep quality people. If I can’t find the staff, I can’t take people off the waiting list.”
Shoffler said the commonwealth has made progress to expand the availability of quality early childhood education, especially for 3- and 4-year-olds from lower-income families.
Shoffler cited statistics.
He said there are more than 12,000, 3- and 4-year-olds in the county and at current eligibility levels only about 4,000 are eligible for subsidized care.
“Instead of squeezing out the middle income earner, (Comitta’s) bill begins the conversation of how we can expand these important benefits to more families who need help affording quality early childhood programs,” Shoffler said.
Shoffler said that access to quality child care increases enrollment in college and technical schools and reduces incarceration and interaction with the criminal justice system.
“A 2017 brief by the commonwealth’s own independent fiscal office finds that every dollar spent on early childhood education adds over $2 to the local economy,” he said.
Sixty-one percent of Chester County children under the age of 5 have all parents in the work force.
In 2014, the medium cost for full-time child care was $11,600 for a preschooler and $25,300 for both an infant and a preschooler, which is 11.5 percent or 25 percent for a family with an annual income of $100,000.
Twenty-six states offer relief through either tax deductions or tax credits. The relief varies from $200 per year in Montana to $2,300 in New York.
When a typical mother leaves the workforce for five years to care for children, she would likely lose more than $400,000 in lifetime earnings.