"It's traumatic enough to put a child in daycare in the first place: but day after day, to leave this fragile, sweet, innocent baby in a place I hate? I wish I had more options." ~ MomsRising member Andrea, Minnesota 

It's a national embarrassment that stories like Andrea's are all too common to families across the country. At a time when 70% of mothers with children under the age of 18 are in the workforce (and thus need care for their children), the cost of childcare is more than college tuition in a majority of states—and only 3 in 10 children have access to high-quality preschool opportunities. 

Fortunately, help may be on the way! Click here to be a part of it! 

Just this week the Strong Start for America's Children Act was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate. This bill is an exciting bipartisan step forward in expanding access to affordable, high-quality preschool and investing in high-quality early learning programs for infants and toddlers. 

*Can you help push this much needed policy forward?  Ask your U.S. Senators and Representative to support and co-sponsor this exciting bill and invest in our country's littlest learners! 

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/StrongStart/

Investing in our youngest is a critical and smart investment for children, for families, and for our country. In fact, investments in high-quality early learning programs like preschool actually save future dollars for everyone; with studies showing that for every dollar invested in high-quality early learning, we see a return of up to $8.00. And it works!  Children who have high-quality early learning experiences are more likely to succeed in school, graduate from high school, gain stable employment, and are less likely to be arrested. 

If passed, the Strong Start Act will be a much needed boost for families and our economy. The Act creates new partnerships between states and the federal government to help states and communities improve and expand high-quality, full-day preschool programs for four-year-olds from low- to moderate-income families. It would also provide new funding for high-quality early learning programs for infants and toddlers.  

This bill is a win-win-win. Investing in early learning helps taxpayers, kids, parents, businesses, and our economy.  Let's give this bill some MOMentum and remind our leaders to get big things done for our littlest learners.

*Please join us and email your U.S. Senators and Representatives in support of the Strong Start Act now!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/StrongStart/

And after you take action, please post the action link on Twitter and Facebook, too. The more of us who raise our voices, the bigger the impact we'll have for our kids, our families, and our country.

Together we are a powerful voice for children and families!