Congress is continuing the negotiations of the Biden-Harris administration’s Build Back Better agenda, including the American Families Plan provisions to dramatically lower the cost of child care for families across the country. This summer CWW received funding from the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies to examine the impact the American Families Plan proposed tax credit expansions and child care reductions could have on the cost of meeting basic needs in Washington State. Our findings estimate that Washington State’s working families will experience direct and significant reductions in the cost of meeting basic needs.

The provisions of a 7% cap on child care expenses, universal preschool, and the expanded Child Tax Credit decrease total annual income needed by nearly half—from $75,558 to $33,884 per year for a family of one adult, one infant, and one preschooler living in Clark County. If all of the provisions were passed, the rate of struggling families in Washington State would decrease from 31% to 19%.