Will the nation meet the next great social challenge in child care?

August 25 — The prevailing view is that our country is deeply divided. Most people are attached to one political party or another. Our national elections are always close. And for the past three decades, control of the House of Representatives and the Senate has swung back and forth between the parties, with razor-thin majorities.

But things could change if either party could seize the opportunity to align public policy with the realities of families. And that party is much more likely to be the Democrats, if they dare.

The family and the workplace have been changing over the past few decades in the United States. The age of the full-time mother began to disappear with the demise of black-and-white television, then accelerated in the 1980s. Today, about 68 percent of children under age 6 live in households where all available parents work.

This is due to several factors, including economic necessity, the considerable progress made by women in equal opportunities in education and careers, and the growth in the number of single-family homes. About 30 percent of families with children under 18 are single-parent families, three times the number in 1965.

But national policies have not kept pace. American families have often been left to fend for themselves: seeking child care that can absorb a large portion of parents’ wages, asking grandparents to fill in the gaps, and leaving children alone more often and earlier than parents would like.

Parents are being forced to reduce their working hours, forgo promotions or new job opportunities because it would make childcare more difficult, or leave the labor market altogether. This is not good for the elasticity of the economy or for individual opportunities.

The party that can use the levers of government to improve the situation of families could seize political control and usher in a new era, if not of one-party dominance, then of one-party preeminence. And it is more likely to be the Democrats, but only if they act boldly. Democrats are philosophically inclined to see government as the solution to problems, while Republicans are more likely to see government as the problem.

Democrats are already leading on this issue. A dozen states, mostly Democratic, have adopted various paid family leave policies that allow family members to continue to receive a paycheck when they need to take time off work — to care for a sick family member, to bond with a new child after a birth or adoption, or because of a worker’s personal medical crisis. Connecticut provides paid family leave, as do Massachusetts, Colorado, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Washington, New York, California, Delaware, New Jersey and Minnesota.

There is a federal family leave law, but it is largely ineffective. The federal Family Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period to care for a newborn, adopted or foster child, or during a health crisis. But it only applies to employers with 50 or more employees, offers no financial support, and does not require employees to be paid while on leave.

The obvious next step for Democrats, should they take control of the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate, would be to direct federal funds to states with paid family leave programs. That would ease the burden states now have to pay for furloughed workers, typically through a payroll tax.

States that don’t want to share the cost of family leave programs with the federal government could reject federal aid. But given the popularity of family leave aid among voters, that could well backfire on Republicans, opening up political opportunities for Democrats to make inroads in some traditionally Republican states. Republicans would quickly jump on board, I fear.

A bigger challenge, and potentially a bigger policy opportunity, is to make the federal government a partner in providing quality, affordable child care. This requires increasing the wages of these essential workers, which would allow for more desperately needed providers.

Once again, it is the Democratic-dominated states that have taken the lead. The Connecticut legislature, for example, recently implemented a 10 percent increase in its reimbursement rate for child care providers who accept state subsidies. In addition, under an agreement with unions, Connecticut will increase child care provider payment rates by 11 percent each year for three years.

But help is needed beyond supporting low-income families who qualify for subsidies. The middle class needs help. States were able to use federal COVID relief funds for child care programs, but that aid has expired. Until Congress provides substantial funding, states will have to fill the funding gap to address the child care crisis.

Washington Democrats could, if given the chance, direct federal aid to state programs aimed at improving child care opportunities for American families. Republicans in Republican states who pass up the opportunity to benefit from federal aid would find themselves in a politically untenable position.

Democrats pioneered once-controversial but now-popular social programs like Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. They can usher in a new era of support for the modern American family. If they can win control of the Senate—a big if—Democrats shouldn’t let the outdated tradition of the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to pass anything, prevent them from doing so.

Of course, all of this could be accomplished in a bipartisan manner. But history shows that it won’t happen that way.

Paul Choiniere is the former editorial page editor of The Day, now retired. He can be reached at [email protected].