BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited Buffalo on Friday to talk about her bill before lawmakers in Washington that would provide millions in funding for child care for those working in law enforcement.
The bill covers $24 million. That's what the Providing Child Care for Police Officers Act would do, the senator said. The new bipartisan bill would provide federal funding for child care services for police.
"A lot of police officers, they might have to be at work at 5 a.m., and there's no daycare center open at 5 a.m., so we would need maybe an existing daycare to say, 'We'll open at at 4:30 to accommodate these officers, and we'll stay open until 8 p.m. to accommodate other people's shifts," Gillibrand said. "That's the kind of partnerships this money is intended for."
Or a police department could decide to open their own daycare center, especially with police officers nontraditional schedules.
Buffalo Police officer Andrea Anderson talked about the bill's significance.
"I do believe this bill will allow a lot of female officers to show up, not just physically but mentally on the job, because you're secure in knowing your children are taken care of," she said.
The senator pointed to a recent survey that shows nearly 20% of police officers are seeking to leave the profession, due to child care issues.
"If we accept the fact that this is necessary for work, that we should invest in it — just like we invest in roads and bridges and electric grids and high-speed rail and high-speed internet — because all of those are necessary for work, and so it child care," Gillibrand said.