‘After Hours Child Care Act’ aims to help more working parents

News February 13, 2026

Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), along with Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), have introduced the After Hours Child Care Act, which would improve access to affordable child care for families with parents working nontraditional hours. For families around the country, money feels tight and the cost of daily life has become harder to manage.

This growing “affordability anxiety” is especially acute for parents of young children, as child care consistently stands out as one of the most significant and unavoidable household expenses—particularly for those working evenings, overnight shifts, or unpredictable schedules who struggle to find safe, reliable care after traditional hours. In addition to the bill’s lead sponsors, the bill is cosponsored in the House of Representatives by Reps. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Mark Pocan (D-WI), and in the Senate by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO).

Key sectors like health care, advanced manufacturing, and public safety depend on employees who work early mornings, late nights, and weekends. Finding child care, let alone affordable child care, during these nontraditional hours remains a major challenge for working parents, particularly in rural areas. The After Hours Child Care Act aims to help meet workforce demand by ensuring the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) can serve families that work nontraditional hours, and supporting efforts to expand on-site child care programs at the workplace. Specifically, it would:

Expand capacity for an existing child care program to serve families working nontraditional hours
Support efforts to establish an on-site child care program at a workplace
Ensure that federal funds supplement current efforts by requiring a 25% match
Require a report every two years on the bill’s effectiveness in improving child care availability

Key Takeaways:

“Almost half of U.S. parents work outside the traditional 9-to-5, which makes affordable child care even harder to access,” said First Five Years Fund Executive Director Sarah Rittling. “Many of these families keep our communities running – working nights and weekends in hospitals, manufacturing plants, restaurants, and public safety – but struggle to find quality care for their own children because providers often lack the staff and resources to stay open during nontraditional hours. We’re grateful to Congresswomen Hinson and Bonamici and Senators Young and Hassan for their bipartisan leadership to help expand access to affordable, quality child care that better meets the needs of hardworking families.”

“I hear consistently from parents about the difficulties they face while trying to find quality, accessible child care that makes sense for their families. This is even harder for parents who don’t work traditional 9-5 hours, like emergency service operators, nurses, first responders, and those in the service industry,” said Congresswoman Hinson. “These roles are critical to the safety and prosperity of our communities, and we have to make it easier for hardworking Iowans to stay in the workforce while raising a family. As a mom of two, I understand the importance of reliable child care options and remain committed to delivering bipartisan solutions that work for all families.”

“It’s clear that working families in Oregon and across the country are struggling to find and afford child care. For parents who work non-traditional hours, including first responders, store clerks, nurses, and manufacturers, it’s a real struggle to find child care options for their families,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “This bipartisan bill will expand access to affordable and convenient child care by expanding existing programs and establishing new facilities to meet the after-hours needs of working families.”

“Hoosier parents rely on affordable child care in order to work, advance their careers, and provide for their families,” said Senator Young. “Currently, child care options are extremely limited for families, especially in rural Indiana communities. Our legislation will help address the needs of working parents, enabling them to more easily pursue employment opportunities that best fit the need of their families.”

“At a time when many families are struggling with high costs, we need to do more to help parents find and afford child care so that they can work and support their families, including when their jobs require early mornings, late nights, or weekend shifts,” said Senator Hassan. “This commonsense, bipartisan bill will help families across New Hampshire and the country access affordable child care that works with their schedules.”