By Karen D’Souza

(Excerpt)

The relief bill also includes $15 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a federal program that helps low-income families pay for child care, a move that is considered critical to getting women back into the workforce in the wake of the pandemic, which has forced legions of mothers to give up their jobs to take care of their children.

“It’s an economic issue for our society as a whole and especially women,” said Alycia Hardy, a policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, an anti-poverty advocacy group in Washington. “Women are often the default parent when it comes to having to leave the workforce to care for children.”

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