Andrea Pena, Owner of Lovely Nest Group Family Day Care Inc.

Every time one of my families comes up for recertification and they're told there's no more money for child care, I lose another child from my program. Those empty spots don't just hurt my business—they hurt the families who want to stay but can't afford to. I'm already losing children to pre-K, and now families who still need child care are being put on a waiting list instead of getting help. It feels like providers like me are being left behind. When are we going to invest enough so families can get the care they need and small family child care programs like mine can survive?

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