23. Provide Subsidized Childcare for Working Parents

WHEREAS 13 million preschoolers, including six million infants and toddlers, are in child care and

WHEREAS 64 percent of mothers with children under the age of six, and 78 percent of mothers with children ages six to 13 are in the labor force and

WHEREAS a  University of North Carolina study found that children in high quality child care demonstrated greater mathematical ability, greater thinking and attention skills, and fewer behavioral problems that children in lower quality care and

WHEREAS nearly five million children are home along after school each week, especially during the afternoon hours when juvenile crime peaks and

WHEREAS a recent Health and Human Services report indicates that only 12 percent of the 15 million children whose families qualify for child care assistance received it, and

WHEREAS research indicates that childcare subsidies are linked to increased employment rates of mothers of young children, but there is very little evidence of the effect of child care subsidies on child development outcomes,

BE IT RESOLVED tHAT, The Maui County Democratic Party Labor committee supports programs, services and policies at all levels of government and through employers to expand the supply of affordable, quality child-care for all who need it, in order to increase access to employment and invigorate and sustain the economy of Maui; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED t hat Maui County Democratic Party will introduce legislation increase the availability of affordable not-for-profit and non-sectarian, quality care for pre-school and school-age children and children with special needs by serving as catalysts in their communities and contributing directly in the design and management of care options, care giver training and support with educational resources, parent outreach and education about care options and assistance, and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED t hat Maui County Democratic Party serve as a conduit for linking policy makers, parents and care-givers to research, teaching resources, care center designs, child health and nutrition resources and other resources for improved policy development and care delivery at sustainable, affordable rates.