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2018 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 16
BY REPRESENTATIVE LEGER
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To recognize Monday, March 26, 2018, as United Way Women United Day at the state
capitol and to commend Women United for its support of early childhood care and
education in Louisiana.
WHEREAS, the Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP, is the only state
administered early childhood care and education program for children under age four; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, Louisiana has dramatically cut funding for the CCPA
such that the program has gone from serving almost 40,000 children in 2009 to serving
17,000 today; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana spends less than one-half of one percent of its state general
funds on early childhood care and education, and only fifteen percent of eligible children
under age four can access a publicly funded early childhood care and education program in
Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, lack of child care has been shown to have a substantial impact on
workforce participation and productivity in the state, causing more than sixteen percent of
parents of young children to quit their jobs, almost fourteen percent to turn down a
promotion, and more than seven percent to be fired; and
WHEREAS, because ninety percent of brain development happens between birth and
age four, children who do not begin school during these years generally lag behind their
peers; and
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WHEREAS, Women United and its network of business and community leaders have
led efforts to begin to address these great challenges and have invested more than $2.4
million to remedy these problems at the local level; and
WHEREAS, Women United's volunteers have invested tens of thousands of hours
to address the most critical issues facing women and children in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Women United became the first women's organization in the nation to
launch Success By Six, an early childhood development program that has helped to elevate
a number of child care centers to nationally-accredited centers of excellence; and
WHEREAS, United Way Worldwide has recognized Women United as one of the
top three women's initiatives in the nation for program innovation; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of Education has identified Women United
as a partner in its efforts to expand access to quality early childhood care and education to
all children; and
WHEREAS, Women United assisted in the establishment of the Louisiana Early
Childhood Care and Education Network, which has helped to unify the state's early
childhood education programs and has helped families to identify quality childcare
providers; and
WHEREAS, Women United's investments in the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
reflects its commitment to ensuring that all children can read at grade level by the end of
third grade; and
WHEREAS, Women United's advocacy efforts helped create the Louisiana Early
Childhood Education Fund and also helped to save Louisiana families millions of dollars by
helping to preserve and increase the School Readiness Tax Credit; and
WHEREAS, countless private-public partnerships organized by Women United have
been responsible for millions of dollars invested in helping children succeed in school; and
WHEREAS, on March 26, Women United will visit the state capitol as part of the
Ready Louisiana Coalition to support public investment in Louisiana's children.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
recognize March 26, 2018, as United Way Women United Day at the state capitol and does
hereby commend Women United for fifteen years of dedication to the advancement of early
childhood care and education in the state of Louisiana.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the president of Women United.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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