Happy Thursday,

I was going to write about how my wife and I took our daughter to a museum for the first time yesterday, but the only story we’re going to be watching for the rest of the week is the upcoming the Child Care Cliff.

We have been covering this topic for weeks now, but we’re now 2 days away from the September 30th cut off date. We’re hoping that lawmakers can get their s**t together and actually help their constituents. Letting this federal aid dry up not only puts millions of families at risk of being without care, but it also will force many thousands of child care employees to lose their careers. This is a crisis and it needs to be given the attention it deserves.

I encourage all of you to contact your local representatives and tell them to do something.

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One Big Idea

The Child Care Cliff is Almost Here

The “Child Care Cliff” on September 30 is not just a funding cut-off—it's a ticking time bomb for American families. As federal aid dries up, over 70,000 child care programs are at a risk of closing, leaving 3.2 million children and their families without the care they need. This isn't just about numbers; it’s about real families facing harsh choices—scale back work hours, scramble for alternative care, or leave the workforce altogether. This cliff threatens to push the delicate ecosystem of work, family, and child care into a free fall, making the balancing act for parents not just harder, but nearly impossible.

Takeaway: Democratic lawmakers are rallying behind the Child Care Stabilization Act, aiming to inject $16 billion annually for the next five years to keep child care accessible. However, the clock is ticking, and without bipartisan support, the act’s promise of stabilizing the child care sector remains a distant hope amidst a looming crisis​.

What You Should Know

Bringing you a new section today with facts on what will happen when states hit the Child Care Cliff

• Parents will be forced to leave or change jobs, reduce work hours, or create piecemeal child care options. On aggregate, we project parents will lose $9 billion in earnings per year across the United States

• The loss in tax and business revenue will likely cost states an additional $10.6 billion in economic activity per year

• The child care workforce, which has been one of the slowest sectors to recover from the pandemic-induced recession, is expected to lose another 232,000 jobs

• Every state has benefited from the funding, providing grants to child care centers and family child care homes to support increased wages (at least temporarily), pay for rent, mortgage and utilities, invest in professional development and classroom materials. And every state will feel the impact

• Even states that are proactively working to continue to support child care providers will not be able to fully make up the difference without federal funding. Without Congressional action, the child care crisis will become a catastrophe

F**k it, here’s a dad joke

What do you give the dentist of the year?

Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter for the answer!

Time(out) for Memes