SENATE RESOLUTION

                         1995-8638

By Senators Kohl, Wood, Drew, Fraser, Prentice, McAuliffe, Johnson, Hale, Rinehart, Finkbeiner, Spanel, Sheldon, Wojahn, Long, Hargrove, Haugen, Bauer, Snyder, Franklin, Fairley, Gaspard, Loveland, Pelz, Sutherland, Rasmussen, Quigley, Roach, Schow, Heavey, Smith, Hochstatter and Winsley

     WHEREAS, Children are our most precious resource and represent the future of our nation; and

     WHEREAS, An ever increasing number of Washington State households rely on both parents working outside the home to support their families; and

     WHEREAS, More and more single parents require child care in order to avoid dependence upon welfare; and

     WHEREAS, High-quality child care is essential to the health, safety and well-being of at least 150,000 Washington State children; and

     WHEREAS, The economic vitality of the state depends upon the available of the every potential member of the work force, many of whom rely on child care services; and

     WHEREAS, Our state has thousands of dedicated workers who provide quality child care in homes, centers and schools; and

     WHEREAS, Child care workers typically earn low wages and have limited access to training; and

     WHEREAS, The well-being of our children is the responsibility of parents, community organizations, businesses and government at the local, state and national levels; and

     WHEREAS, Washington State provided $207 million to subsidize child care for needy families during the 1993-95 biennium and the need continues to grow;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate hereby recognizes the value of a statewide system of safe, high-quality and affordable child care; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize on this day, the Sixth of April, the valuable contribution of the thousands of professional child care workers across the state who are the foundation of our state's child care system.

I, Marty Brown, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 1995-8638,

adopted by the Senate April 6, 1995.

MARTY BROWN

Secretary of the Senate