SEIU Healthcare Illinois launched a television ad campaign today calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly to protect funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).
The Department of Human Services announced a $300 million budget shortfall last month that will leave 160,000 thousand children in low-wage households without safe, reliable child care services.
The ad is one part of an aggressive campaign being led by early childhood education advocates, parents, childcare providers and children’s organizations throughout Illinois to restore funding for the child care program. It will be shown in all major media markets in the state including: Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Quad-Cities and Champaign. The ad will air Feb. 11 through Feb. 18.
Susan and Jason McWhirter and their two children are featured in the ad. (Click here for a profile of the family). The Peoria family relies on the child care program to go to work.
“We’re very concerned about losing child care assistance,” Mrs. McWhirter said. “’My husband and I both work and I go to school so I can get a better job. Many families have no options but to leave their children in the care of others while they make a living for their family. The child care program gives me and my family options for child care that we can trust.”
The ad comes the week before Gov. Rauner is set to unveil his budget proposal on Feb. 18. The Chicago Tribune called the shortfall an “immediate test” for the governor. Working parents and children’s advocates across the state have been very vocal about the crisis and the devastating impact of not fully funding the program.
