By JOHN BREAUX

The first day of school is an important milestone in every child’s life. For the first time, the child is on their own – eager to learn and make friends. Parents supply pencils, notebooks and words of encouragement, hoping their children will thrive in this new world.

In recent years, however, educators have expressed concern that many children enter kindergarten completely unprepared. This school readiness gap, noticed in kindergarten, begins far earlier, and a lack of quality childcare for America’s young children is often to blame.

Children should not be left behind because inconsistent child care fails to adequately prepare them for challenges to come. I am committed to providing working families with peace of mind in knowing that their children are safe and nurtured while they are on the job.

The needs of working parents and the well-being of their children should not be mutually exclusive. It is estimated that 65 percent of women with children under the age of 5, and half of women with infants, are in today’s work force. Working parents are faced with the mounting challenge of finding quality child care at a cost they could afford and, often, this is simply impossible.

Hard-working Americans are often forced to choose between family and career. By improving the quality and accessibility of child care, we can help parents keep their jobs, move up the career ladder and provide a better life for their children.

The 2002 Access Act, which I support, expands assistance and quality of child care to more working families and helps ensure more children have access to care that prepares them for school. This act builds on the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program, to focus more attention on child development. The act will provide more money for infant and toddler care, increase child care provider reimbursement rates, provide additional funding for care of children with special needs and increase child care provider accountability.

Nationally, only 12 to 15 percent of children eligible for federally subsidized child care actually get it and in many rural areas, there are no childcare providers. Louisiana is no exception as access to safe and affordable child care is extremely limited for low-income families.

The Access Act will not only make child care in our state more affordable, it will also require child care facilities to meet certain safety and quality standards. These improvements will help ensure that children are placed in an environment where they can grow, learn and develop the basic skills needed to thrive in and out of school.

We have learned that reliable child care is directly related to job retention. A parent cannot be in two places at once, and an employer is not likely to retain an employee that cannot perform on the job due to constant struggles with inconsistent child care providers.

JOHN BREAUX represents Louisiana in the United States Senate.