PROVIDENCE – Helena B. Foulkes on Wednesday released additional details of her campaign’s comprehensive economic plan that calls for state investments to create new public transportation routes and reduce the costs of childcare.
The ‘Plan for Working Families’ includes $20 million to pilot an employer-matched childcare fund designed to reduce the cost of care for working parents, while also expanding existing state tax credits for childcare assistance.
The announcement comes the day after
Emerson College and WPRI-TV CBS 12 News released a new poll of democrat primary voters showing Gov. Daniel J. McKee trailing Foulkes by 20 percentage points.
Calling accessible childcare "an obvious boon to working parents in Rhode Island" as well as "employers who invest in their workers," the plan cites data showing the average cost
of infant care in the state now outpaces both in-state public college tuition and rent.
In addition, the plan includes a $15 million state appropriation to create new public transportation lines connecting workers to Quonset, ProvPort, hospital campuses and other key transportation routes.
“With the high cost of childcare, transportation, and housing, even good-paying jobs aren’t enough to help lower costs for Rhode Islanders,” said Foulkes. "The principle is simple: run the buses where the jobs are."
This phase builds on Foulkes previous plan to creating a revolving loan fund to spur construction of 20,000 new homes and apartments, paid for with an income tax hike on those earning more than $1 million.
In a statement Foulkes recalled a meeting with a group of carpenters while campaigning in 2022 where she was surprised that instead of topics like wages and inflation, the most important issue cited was the cost of childcare.
"That moment has never left me," she said.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.