Working Parents Say They Need the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to Continue to Work to Provide for Their Families; Will Push Governor and Legislators for an Immediate Solution for Crisis

(FEBRUARY 26, 2015, Springfield)–Working parents, single moms, children and child care providers organized a major rally inside the State Capitol about the dire consequences if Governor Rauner and state legislators fail to find the emergency funding necessary to save and continue the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). The CCAP program has completely run out of money needs an emergency funding bill worth $300 million.

Working families strongly urged Gov. Rauner and the state legislature not to play politics with the lives of child care providers, single moms and dads, and low-income families and children – and instead work towards an immediate solution.

See a slide show, press clips and videos from the lobby day and action in front of Gov. Rauner’s office:

Springfield WCIX 49: Working Parents to Gov. Rauner: Pass Emergency Funding to Save Child Care

Springfield CBS: Hundreds of Parents, Providers Rally at State Capitol to Save Child Care Program

Springfield ABC: Gov Rauner Says State Is “Close” to Passing Emergency Funding to Save Child Care

Parents say that unless Gov. Rauner and legislative leaders take urgent action, they will be forced to quit their jobs or make dramatic changes, such as having to uproot their families to live with family members, just so they can find child care while they work.

Recent reports indicate that the Governor and legislators have stopped working together in order to fill the CCAP budget hole, even as parents are starting to lose access to child care and face catastrophic consequences.

Despite Governor Bruce Rauner’s statements in support of working families and the CCAP program during last week’s budget address, the figures in his proposed budget tell a very different story–that the Governor is prioritizing senseless and unnecessary cuts over the desperate and immediate need of working families to keep affordable and accessible child care.

Since the Governor’s budget address, there’s been little progress by either legislators or the Governor to find an immediate solution to make sure that the program can continue uninterrupted for the over 100,000 parents in the state who rely upon child care to support their children parents work or back to school.