By Alyssa Fortner and Shira Small This year’s Black History Month theme, “African Americans and Labor,” provides an important opportunity to uplift and reflect on the ways Black women have shaped America’s child care system. This reflection is particularly critical one month into a new…
The high cost of child care has a significant impact on families’ economic security and spending power, yet this impact is not captured well in data. It is crucial for more intentional, equitable data to be collected about the state of child care and early…
Federal investments of over $50 billion, including $39 billion from ARPA, helped sustain child care providers during COVID-19. These funds improved access, affordability, and provider support, but are set to expire on September 30, 2024.
This new cost-sharing model's positive and negative impacts are still being realized. What's clear is that this country needs a well-resourced, publicly funded child care system that is universally accessible and affordable.
To advance equity in child care access for families with infants and toddlers, federal and state policymakers must boost funding dedicated to helping them afford it.
"The CLASP report calls for federal and state programs, including Head Start, to collect discipline data on publicly funded centers and track disparities by race and ethnicity."
While CLASP applauds the passage of the FY2023 omnibus spending package with increased investments in key child care and early education programs, it leaves out other crucial investments in programs that also support families with low incomes.
For far too long, the lack of funding for the child care sector has led to significant tradeoffs resulting in inequitable policies and limited access for families who need it the most.