Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers announced the spending plan for $12 million in new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) investments to expand access to affordable, high-quality child care.
“A major barrier to people joining or returning to the workforce is the lack of available child care. The effects of child care deserts across our county impact all of us, but they have an even more acute impact on women, who are pushed out of the job market at higher rates due to the extremely high cost of child care,” said Executive Somers. “That’s why we want to expand access for communities across our county, particularly in places where child care is already extremely scarce.”
“ORR has done a tremendous job assessing and supporting the needs for our community on the heels of the pandemic. A top priority in my work as a councilmember continues to be the child care needs for our families, and I’m proud to support the efforts of ORR as they allocate necessary dollars to providers, families, and organizations throughout the child care sector in our community,” said Chair Jared Mead (District 4).
“The pandemic highlighted the child care challenges many families face in Snohomish County. These investments in child care will help expand the availability of quality child care and help workers looking to re-enter the workforce with the peace of mind that their children are well looked after,” said Vice Chair Nate Nehring (District 1).
“The pandemic has been difficult for so many people and has shined a bright light on some of the inequitable gaps in our community,” said Councilmember Megan Dunn (District 2).“One of these gaps is access to affordable child care and pathways towards employment in early childhood learning centers. This ARPA allocation by the county to help expand child care availability will be instrumental in our recovery from the pandemic to help get families back to work.”
“We can’t strengthen our economy without supporting our small businesses and our small businesses can’t thrive without a workforce that can afford quality child care in their community. This plan will help build that bridge and all of Snohomish County will be the better for it,” said Councilmember Strom Peterson (District 3).
“Investing in child care and behavioral health services is critical so that there is improved access to these programs for Snohomish County residents. I am grateful we are getting these funds out to the families that need them,” said Councilmember Sam Low (District 5).
To increase the accessibility and availability of child care, Snohomish County proposes the following $12 million spending plan:
$5 million – Start-Up & Expansion Grants
- $3.8 million – Workforce Development and Retention
- $200,000 – Community-Led Recruitment and Mentorship
- $3 million – Continued Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) Stabilization
More Information on the County’s recovery work can be found at snohomishcountywa.gov/recovery.
