CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group of mothers in West Virginia is urging Gov. Patrick Morrisey to sign legislation approved by lawmakers which they call a child care stabilization measure.
House Bill 4191 provides increased tax credits to employers and offers child care subsidies and protections for parents who have to put their kids in daycare to go to work.
Amy Jo Hutchinson is the West Virginia campaign director for “Moms Rising West Virginia.” Her organization strongly supported the bill not just in this year’s legislative session, but in fact for the past five years. The group has been working the halls of the capitol to get something codified to protect working families.
“This isn’t something that just happened when session began, this is our 5th year at trying to get some form of child care legislation passed in the state of West Virginia. We’re very, very excited about this,” said Hutchinson on a recent edition of MetroNews Midday.
The organization said the final hurdle is the governor’s signature. They are working to encourage Morrisey to sign the legislation into law. Hutchinson said this will benefit multiple groups of people.
“It doesn’t matter what your profession is. If you’re a doctor–a brain surgeon or you’re a retail clerk you need childcare if you’re going to be a working parent,” she said.
Hutchinson said too often in the discussion about the issue there are too many hang-ups about economic development and workforce development. She said the emphasis needs to be on what makes those things happen.
“Child care providers are the workforce behind the workforce,” she said.
Hutchinson said the bill opens a lot of possibilities for working families not presently enjoyed. It adjusts childcare with tax credits for employers and subsidies for working families. Hutchinson said there are also protections in place to give working families more options.
“Now we don’t have to be afraid to accept a pay raise or more hours because we’re afraid we’re going to lose our child care assistance immediately,” she said. “The benefits in this bill alone may take a while for all of them to set it.”