Child Care and Tax Credits

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/opinion/child-care-and-tax-credits.html

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To the Editor:

Re “The Power of Day Care” (The Upshot, April 22):

Claire Cain Miller and the studies she cites are correct: Aid for high-quality child care “has the biggest economic payoff for parents and their children” of “any policy aimed to help struggling families.”

What the article did not discuss, and what the Trump administration needs to address, is how to design this support to benefit young children while also supporting quality care. To address child care costs, any tax benefit needs to be refundable so all families can benefit.

In 2007, I worked with lawmakers and leaders across Louisiana to create a program in which low-income families receive tax credits if their children attend centers participating in the state’s quality rating program. It continues to be a win-win, with incentives for quality child care for both the provider and the family.

As proposed, the administration’s plan won’t help low-income families, will only moderately help those with middle incomes, and is unlikely to propel any child into a higher quality environment.

The lessons learned in Louisiana are compelling and a reason to think differently about how the tax system can support working families and enhance quality simultaneously.

GEOFFREY A. NAGLE, CHICAGO

The writer is president and chief executive of the Erikson Institute, which studies and offers leadership on early childhood development.