Kentucky Employers Leading on Child Care Press Conference - Speech | Rep. Samara Heavrin

In 2022, when Senator Julie Rocky Adams and I passed this legislation through the House and the Senate, I would have never imagined the partnership that could have came from that, from the Louisville Mayor's Office, from the Chamber, from the Novak Family Foundation. How humbling to see the hard work that we put in in 2022 and what it's growing to today in 2026 and what it's going to be in 2030 with employers actively involved. Childcare access and affordability are critical for working families. With annual childcare costs as high as $10,000 for just one child, childcare is unattainable for many of Kentucky's families, whether you're in rural Kentucky or urban Kentucky. This can prevent many families from having the option to participate in the workforce, especially middle-income families. While programs like the Childcare Assistance Program provide critical support to low-income working families, middle-income families have fewer options available for them. And still struggle every day to afford child care. That's why we created the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership. By working with employers and child care providers, this program aims to help more families in Kentucky access high-quality child care, giving parents the options to join, rejoin, or stay in the workforce as they build their careers and ensure financial stability of their families. Since the creation of ECAP, Kentucky has received national attention for being an innovative state for child care solutions. In fact, over the last two years, I've participated in a bipartisan national work group through the National Conference of State Legislatures, which included private public partnerships like ECAP as one of their top recommendations for states to use. Groups like Child Care Trust and Buffett Early Childhood Institute have also written about ECAP. A lot of businesses and groups throughout the state have been working hard to strengthen this unique program and build it into a strong benefit for all Kentucky families. The Kentucky General Assembly has strongly focused on strengthening this program over the last few years. This past legislative session, I was proud to sponsor House Bill 6, which included significant improvements to the program, among many other critical reforms. But we have so much more to do, and that's why I'm excited to see this remarkable partnership between the business, nonprofit, nonprofit, and philanthropic communities. I look forward to seeing how this partnership can increase access to ECAP and help ensure that all Kentucky families have possible access and afford. Afford, sorry, afford high-quality child care. I'm just so excited. I don't know why I did it. Anyways, yes, so how, let me rephrase that. I look forward to seeing, I really am excited, y'all. I look forward to seeing how this new partnership can increase access to ECAP and help ensure as many Kentucky families as possible can access and afford high-quality child care. Thank you all.