My name is Jessica Honza. I’m a middle school teacher from the suburbs of Minneapolis, a mother of two young boys and a proud member of MomsRising.

My husband and I, like so many other families, have struggled to find affordable, quality child care for our kids. We tried to be financially responsible – we waited until we were in our 30s to have children and built up our savings. Despite numerous advantages, and the support of our families, when my first son, Abe, was born, we realized just how difficult it would be to find child care.

We started searching for in-home providers – we thought this would be our best option, given that infant care at an in-home center was less expensive. But we called more than 100 different providers and not a single one had any availability, or they were concerned that they would be unable to properly care for my son, who wore leg braces. So we gave up and started looking into child care centers. After months of searching, our son finally secured a spot somewhere – but nine months at the center would cost $18,000.

We were shocked. My husband and I are both teachers, and while we live comfortably, we don’t make a lot of money. We wanted to grow our family, but calculated that it would be best to wait three years to have another child, because by then Abe’s rate would be lower. Instead, the center’s rate increased by $20 a week THREE DIFFERENT TIMES in two years.  

When we eventually did have our second child, we were able to secure him a spot in a small, independent child care center that we adore. Abe was eventually able to secure a spot alongside his brother, but we’re still paying almost $24,000 a year in child care costs. And that’s just during the school year – it would cost even more to keep them in over the summer. We’re withdrawing as much as $5,000 a year from our savings to help cover the costs.

We’ve always planned to have a third child, but in order to do so, we’ll have to postpone any saving or spending that isn’t immediately essential. As a family, we’ve been lucky, hardworking and economical. We rarely take vacations. We buy our clothes at second-hand stores. And yet we can barely make it work.  

When you’re a parent, your children are your whole world, and you want them to have every opportunity to learn and grow. But too many families today lack access to high-quality, affordable care options. As a teacher, I see how the lack of high-quality early learning can impact kids later in their lives. Our children can’t wait.  

The Child Care for Working Families Act would help the millions of parents and caregivers struggling to make early learning work for their families. It would give children the chance to learn and grow, and it would give parents peace of mind knowing that their children are in safe and enriching environments while they’re at work. This legislation would help strengthen the workforce, making sure teachers are well-compensated and able to care for their own families as well as ours. All of this would lift up our families AND our local economies. Thank you so much Senator Murray, Senator Casey and  Representative Scott for showing such strong leadership on this issue and helping our families learn and grow.

Thank you.

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Watch Jessica tell her story in this video on Facebook!