House Passes Pettigrew’s Quality Child Care Bill
by Seattle Medium
The Seattle Medium
Originally posted 3/11/2009
OLYMPIA – Recounting past childhood experiences, Rep. Eric Pettigrew (D – 37th Dist.) spoke of the educational benefits of quality child care.
Raised by a single mother in south-central Los Angeles, Pettigrew said that his child care center was the only steady thing in his life.
“Child care centers provide stable, equal education for all of our kids,” Pettigrew said. “Education gives us hope, regardless of where you’re from.”
In an effort to increase quality child care and strengthen early learning services, Pettigrew introduced House Bill 1329, which passed the House yesterday. Pettigrew's bill addresses the need to prepare children for the future by providing them with a top-notch education from the start.
“This is a very personal thing for me,” Pettigrew said. “Education saved my life.”
House Bill 1329 creates an opportunity for child care directors and workers to collectively bargain with the state over matters within the state's purview to improve the quality of child care for Washington families. The bill facilitates a new relationship among early learning providers and encourages them to work together to improve standards in their profession and expand opportunities for educational advancement.
Last year, a similar version of Pettigrew’s bill passed the House, but it was brought to a halt in the Senate. A number of notable changes are included in this year’s House Bill 1329. One significant alteration is that the bill requires the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to adjust subsidy rates for all child care centers in a DSHS region in order to match the rates reached through collective bargaining agreements for the same region. This means that even facilities that don’t participate in collective bargaining negotiations will still receive the negotiated increase subsidy rates.
“America is about opportunity for all,” Pettigrew said. “Education is the pathway to success, and every little boy and girl in Washington state – rich or poor, Black or White, Asian or Hispanic – deserves the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. This bill helps give kids a solid foundation.”
