Opinion: As a mother, my children will always be my top priority. Like parents across this country, I want them to grow up safe, healthy, and have all the tools to succeed. But years as both a parent and a business owner solidified one thing for me: good intentions alone don’t get families across the finish line. Raising children takes more than love, it takes real, practical support that helps parents work, provide, and plan for the future.

For more than three decades, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) has helped families meet that need. Signed into law by Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1990, CCDBG has helped make safe, reliable child care more affordable, giving parents peace of mind as they work to earn a living and provide for their loved ones.

CCDBG works by sending block grants directly to states and territories, giving local leaders the flexibility to address child care costs for low-income working families. As a former state legislator, I’ve seen how this flexibility allows states to stretch dollars further, respond to local needs, and support parents who are working to provide for their children.

For decades, this approach has eased the burden on working parents, supported healthy child development, and strengthened the economic backbone of communities across the country. At a time in which Americans are feeling increased economic pressure and affordability remains a top concern, CCDBG is playing a more important role than ever in helping to bolster our economy and provide financial security for families.

Last week, with leadership from Chairman Tom Cole, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed a full-year spending bill that funded key child care programs. Recent polling shows voters say investing in child care is a good use of taxpayer dollars. Congress is listening – just last week, they passed the FY26 spending package which included more funding for CCDBG. This investment reflects a strong recognition that child care programs support working families, strengthen our economy, and help set our nation’s children up for success. It’s a meaningful step in the right direction.

But this is no time for complacency. Instead, it’s an opportunity to build on that momentum and ensure families continue to get the support they need to work and thrive.

Child care is a necessity for families who are working to support their children, not just a luxury. Programs like CCDBG help bridge the gap between the rising cost of care and what working families can afford. In many places, child care costs now outpace rent. Here in Oklahoma, center-based care exceeds $10,000 a year. Here in Oklahoma, center-based child care exceeds $10,000 a year for just one child. That’s hard, if not impossible, to afford for many families with little ones.

But the need still far outpaces the resources available. Across the country, only a fraction of families with children under five who qualify for CCDBG receive help. In Oklahoma, where 60 percent of families with young children have both parents in the workforce, just 23 percent receive support. That gap forces too many parents into an impossible choice: caring for their children or keeping their jobs. That’s not sustainable for families or for our workforce.

Oklahomans are counting on our elected officials in Washington to continue to protect and strengthen CCDBG, so more families can get the support they need to meet this intense demand. When parents can work and provide for their children, our communities and economy grow stronger.

About the author: Jessica Garvin is co-owner of Bison Health Management, Executive Director of West Wind Assisted Living, owner and COO of Refuge Care, and a former Oklahoma state senator who represented District 43 from 2020 to 2024.