Elliot's Provocations Archives - Page 3 of 4

Elliot’s Provocations: The Minimum Viable Child Care Fallacy

Elliot Haspel·Jul 6, 2023·17 min read

I dislike the economic case for child care. I’m not talking about my take on the role of employers, but the near-constant way lawmakers and advocates of both parties rest their case for supporting child care on its function as an economic driver.

Elliot’s Provocations: Voter Support for Child Care Is Sky-High Yet Butter-Soft

Elliot Haspel·Mar 1, 2023·8 min read

Elliot’s Provocations unpacks current events in the early learning world and explores how we can chart a path to a...

Elliot’s Provocations: When the Waters Rise on Child Care Programs

Elliot Haspel·May 2, 2023·5 min read

If you’ve been following my work for the past year, you know I am deeply concerned about how unprepared our child- and family-serving systems are for this new reality. I’m not the only one. A new report puts a fine point on why early care & education stakeholders need to have a climate strategy, and why public officials need to have ECE in their climate strategy: a staggering number of child care programs are under threat.

Elliot’s Provocations: Where Have All the Child Care Lobbyists Gone?

Elliot Haspel·Apr 4, 2023·4 min read

Last month, I wrote about how child care’s lack of salience in the public imagination is holding back its political opportunities. The absence of mass public pressure is one piece of the puzzle. Another piece is that by and large, child care lacks a strong inside game.

Elliot’s Provocations: Whither Family, Friends & Neighbor Care?

Elliot Haspel·Sep 5, 2023·6 min read

If caregiving is labor, if caregiving supports child development, if caregiving boosts the economy, if caregiving enables family flourishing, then how can we say only institutional programs belong within child care policy?

How Congress Can Still Save Child Care

Elliot Haspel·Sep 1, 2022·4 min read

While there is much to celebrate about the Inflation Reduction Act, one group was left on the outside looking in: parents with young children.

KinderCare Is Now Trading on the Stock Market. What Does That Mean for the Future of American Child Care?

KinderCare, which serves nearly 200,000 children across the country, recently hit the public market.

Elliot Haspel·Dec 3, 2024·6 min read

There was a major shift in the child care landscape in October, but you’d be forgiven for not noticing unless...

New Year’s Resolutions for the Early Learning Community

Elliot Haspel·Jan 4, 2022·7 min read

2021 was a momentous year for early childhood care & education. The field suffered blow after blow from COVID and then a knock-on staffing crisis; received nearly $50 billion in rescue funds to temporarily patch the gaping leaks; and is ending the year on the precipice of receiving enough public funds through the Build Back Better Act to finally become a stable and healthy sector.