Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, says the bipartisan “Providing Child Care for Police Officers Act” would set aside $24 million for each of the next five fiscal years to encourage police departments to try their own pilot childcare programs.
Speaking from Poughkeepsie City Hall, Gillibrand says departments would receive grants of up to $3 million to either open their own childcare programs, contract with local daycares, or provide childcare scholarships to officers’ families.
“If it’s a big police department, and you have 10-15 children, you might be able to open your own daycare center. If you’re a police department that has two or three children who still need care, you might be able to partner with a local daycare center to open earlier," she explains. "One of the problems is daycare centers are usually 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., maybe 6 p.m. if you’re lucky. But that’s not when our law enforcement has their shifts.”
Gillibrand says finding childcare as a police officer is often difficult, especially in the first few years on the job, when shifts can be long or unpredictable. She theorizes the struggle to balance work and family life is one of many factors keeping potential candidates, especially women, from pursuing careers in law enforcement. A survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police last year found 70 percent of agency heads nationwide say recruitment is more difficult today than it was five years ago.
Poughkeepsie Police Chief Richard Wilson says his department of 92 officers currently has 11 vacancies. He cites a few reasons for the shortage: namely, he says police departments in Dutchess County are competing for an overall smaller number of officers compared to areas like Albany or New York City. But on that front, he sees childcare as a major bargaining chip to help bring candidates into Poughkeepsie.
Wilson has been with the department for more than 30 years. His wife is a New York State Trooper, and he remembers how difficult it was for them to find childcare when their children were little.
“The greatest source of anxiety and stress for us was how we were going to piecemeal childcare, and that came together with a combination of family, friends and part-time childcare. Except that stress was compounded by the fact that we needed to secure that childcare by committing to full-time hours, facing conflicts in our scheduling and overtime," says Wilson. "Anything the government can do to release and reduce that anxiety on staff here will be a great benefit to our wellness, to our staff’s wellness, and to how we’re able to police our community.”
It’s not a given that Poughkeepsie would receive any grants, but Gillibrand says she’s hopeful that the state’s police departments would fare well in applications for the federal funds. Twenty percent of the total grant funding would be set aside strictly for smaller police departments with less than 200 officers.
The bill, which is cosponsored by Republican North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis in the Senate and California Democrat Scott Peters in the House, has not been brought to a vote in either chamber. The bill comes at a time when the Trump administration is actively slashing federal spending for many social programs. But if it were to pass, Gillibrand says grants could start as soon as next year.
Ultimately, she’d like to expand the idea to other emergency personnel down the line, from EMS crews to air traffic controllers.
“If we were successful in getting this passed, we would amplify it for all public servants," says Gillibrand. "We need more FAA workers; we need more of every first responder. There’s not one in public service that’s recruiting at full complement.”
