It feels bizarre to be writing these words, but the U.S. stands on the verge of a real early learning system.

Elliot Haspel
Elliot Haspel is a nationally-recognized child & family policy expert and commentator, with a specialty in early childhood and education issues. He is the author of Crawling Behind: America’s Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It. Elliot has appeared on television as an analyst, including on The PBS Newshour with Judy Woodruff, and his writings have appeared in a wide variety of top publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. Elliot holds an B.A. in History from the University of Virginia and an M.Ed. in Education Policy from Harvard's Graduate School of Education.
Elliot also writes a free semi-monthly newsletter, The Parents Aren't Alright.
My paternity leaves were some of the most cherished weeks of my life. While far too short, I have crystal-clear...
As the fight for an effective and well-funded child care system continues, philanthropies are exploring innovative avenues to support advocacy...
While the U.S. is busy debating whether or not to finally invest in our failing child care system, Canada is busy doing it.
Welcome to the first edition of my new monthly column, “Elliot’s Provocations.” The goal of this column is to unpack...
What if, as a counterpart to public school districts for children five and under, we had “early childhood districts” adapted...
It will take a long time for us to fully unpack the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Research has...
State Roundup: The Summer of Child Care Innovations
New Mexico, Illinois and Connecticut Provide Cross-Section of States Making Bold Moves
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said that states are the “laboratories of democracy.” It turns out they are the...
As the debate rages over proposals to improve U.S. child care, several commentators— mostly self-described conservatives—have pointed to Quebec’s child...
The Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act: The Boldest Plan On Offer Is Quietly Received (3-Part Series, Part 2)
Series: Which Path Forward?: Analyzing the Flurry of Federal Child Care Proposals
Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in many ways the match that lit the current child care moment. Before the world had...