Thank you for another great Town Hall!I want to extend my sincerest thanks to everyone who came out to our legislative town hall last night. It was a packed house, and in my opinion, the best one yet!  It’s so important that I hear from constituents on what matters most, and last night was a beautiful show of public engagement from folks who care deeply for our community. Rep. Laurie Pryor, Sen. Steve Cwodzinski and I are grateful for your participation.  If you missed it, you can watch the whole meeting on my Facebook page. If there are any topics or questions we did not get to that you’d like information about, feel free to reach out at rep.carlie.kotyza-witthuhn@house.mn.gov. We will be following up on questions submitted individually as well. I know that everyone’s schedules are tight with work and school commitments, extracurricular activities, etc. If you would like to meet with me 1:1 or in a small group, please let me know. Great Start Childcare Affordability ProgramThis session, Sen. Grant Hauschild and I are introducing a proposal to make childcare more affordable for middle-income families across the state. Last session, we did a lot to support and expand programs for low-income families through programs like the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), early learning scholarships, and Head Start programs. Those benefits reach households with an annualized income of around $60,000, but we know families who don’t currently qualify for those subsidies are still struggling to pay for childcare. The US Department of Human Services considers “affordable” childcare as being no more than 7% of a family’s income. But right now in Minnesota, too many families are paying as much as 50% or more, leaving them with little or no money to pay rent, put food on the table, pay for their medical care, or put money into savings. The proposal Senator Hauschild and I are introducing would make a monthly per child payment directly to providers, reducing the amount that families have to pay out of pocket. Payments are based on the family’s income and the goal is get as many families as possible closer to that 7% mark. All but the highest earners, approximately 85% of Minnesota families with children under the age of five, would be eligible in some way on a sliding scale. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that putting a cap on the costs of early care and learning like this could help send over 32,000 Minnesotans back into the workforce and create $3.7 billion of new economic activity. We've seen time and time again that the best way to boost Minnesota is to invest in our kids, and that's exactly what we’re going to do. We can and will make Minnesota the best state to raise a family. Will you take my Legislative Survey?Another helpful tool for setting my priorities heading into session is through my legislative survey. If you haven’t had a chance to take the survey, you can do so below. We will be accepting responses until April 1! TAKE MY LEGISLATIVE SURVEY |