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Child Care Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our already fragile child care system. Providers have closed, others are struggling, and everyone it seems is realizing that without child care, America can’t get back to work. (Yes, child care is infrastructure.) Early Learning Nation is covering the field with rigor and nuance from a historical perspective (Universal Child Care was a great success during WWII), to the latest legislative proposals and to ways that we must transform the way we treat our undervalued and largely unseen child care workforce.

Making the Bipartisan Case for Child Care: the Industry that Keeps America Working

Mark Swartz·September 9, 2020·4 min read

Bipartisanship is increasingly rare these days, but even before the pandemic, child care was an issue that could reliably, occasionally,...

Martha’s Vineyard: Child Care Solutions for a Picturesque Locale

Mark Swartz·October 20, 2021·4 min read

Martha’s Vineyard, an island south of Cape Cod, Mass., has long been known as a resort community for prosperous Black families as well as a gathering place for Democratic Party leaders and supporters. There’s more to the picture, however, than summertime wealth and power. A recent report based on the American Communities Survey described “a continuing housing crisis and some of the deeply ingrained inequality affecting the rest of the country.”

Michigan’s First of Its Kind Program Shares Child Care Costs Between the State, Employers and Employees

Bryce Covert·October 5, 2021·7 min read

As a state representative in Michigan, Greg VanWoerkom has gone on a lot of tours of local businesses to find...

Mighty, Mighty Bosses

Florida Executives Apply Peer Pressure to Advance Early Childhood

Mark Swartz·October 23, 2020·3 min read

“We as a nation are taking parenting seriously for the first time,” economic researcher Martha Gimbel recently told The Washington...

Minnesota Makes Major Strides on Behalf of Children and Families

Legislative Session Brings $750 Million in New Funds for Child Care and Early Learning Programs

Rebecca Gale·July 25, 2023·4 min read

There are major changes coming for families in Minnesota. That is how Representative Dave Pinto explains it. The Democratic legislator,...

More Bad News for Child Care: The Importance of Not Looking Away

Our Broken Child Care System and How to Fix It, Part 2

The Editors·May 20, 2020·8 min read

In this three-part series, Dr. Laura Justice—executive director of the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at The...

National Women’s Law Center’s #WeAretheBackbone Campaign Gives Voice to Child Care Workers

Mark Swartz·September 16, 2021·5 min read

Child care workers are the backbone of the economy and a smart new campaign from the National Women’s Law Center...

Nearly Half of American Families Struggle to Afford Diapers

Diaper Need Increases Dramatically as Pandemic-Era Programs End and Inflation Rises

Bryce Covert·July 11, 2023·8 min read

Jasmine Smith couldn’t have guessed the cascading effect her three-year-old daughter’s broken arm would have on their lives. The older...

Neighborhood Villages: Boston-Based Child Care Innovation Lab for Solutions that Can Scale

K.C. Compton·November 10, 2022·9 min read

The child care landscape throughout the U.S. can put just about anyone in a grim frame of mind. The problems...

Neighborhood Villages: The Pathway to Professionalism is Paved with Apprenticeships

K.C. Compton·February 22, 2023·8 min read

“There is growing agreement on the need for more highly skilled child care teachers and an increased awareness that teachers...