WEIK CALLS FOR MORE DAYCARE HELP FOR LI FAMILIES GETTING BACK TO WORK AND SCHOOL
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Tuesday, September 3, 2020
CONTACT: Alexis Weik for Senate, (631) 319-1261, (315) 706-6736 (cell)
As schools and businesses prepare to open, State Senate candidate Alexis Weik says Long Island families need more help in finding quality, affordable child care, and she’s calling on the state to expand a key tax credit to make services more affordable and accessible.
“As a working mother, I know firsthand the challenges of finding quality child care that is both affordable and safe. Now, with schools reopening, including many using a ‘hybrid’ model, and more New Yorkers trying to get back to work, we need to help families who need quality and affordable child care and ensure our children stay safe and healthy,” Weik said.
“The federal CARES Act already provided funds to states to help with child care, but these funds are sitting unused. We need the Governor to release these funds and make them available now to support families that need it most.”
Weik joined in supporting a measure proposed by Republican Senators to double the existing state tax credit to help families pay child care costs. In the Senate, Weik said she would co-sponsor the bill, and seek to extend it so that the credit is available to more middle-class families.
Right now, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit is equal to a percentage of a similar federal credit. Weik said she would favor making the two credits equal so that families would qualify for up to $7,000 annually.
The proposal would be funded through $70 million in federal assistance the state has already received for child care expenses. Only about $1 million of that funding has been spent so far.
Weik, currently the elected Receiver of Taxes for the Town of Islip is the Republican-Conservative candidate for the Senate’s 3rd District, comprising parts of the Towns of Brookhaven and Islip.