Equity Matters: What if the Current Fight to Protect Child Care is also an Opportunity to Transform it?
This event has already happened. Please see the full recording, learn more about the speakers, and find a list of resources below.
On October 22, 2026, the latest installment of CLASP’s Equity Matters series examined what it means to build a truly equitable universal child care system—and why the building process matters as much as the vision itself. Our panel of experts discussed how meaningful engagement with families, providers, and other directly impacted communities—particularly communities of color, people with low incomes, and immigrants—strengthens policy design, informs implementation, and centers equity.
Watch the full recording below:
Speakers:
Welcome
- Wendy Chun-Hoon, Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Emcee
- Stephanie Schmit, Director, Child Care and Early Education, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Panel Moderator
- Marica Cox Mitchell, Chief Program Officer, Bainum Family Foundation
Panelists
- Charis Davis, Parent Leader, Ohio Parent Advocacy Network and United Parent Leaders Action Network
- Olga Grays, Provider and Owner of Mrs. Olga’s Daycare, New Mexico
- Emmy Liss, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Child Care, New York City
- Cleo Rodríguez, Jr., Executive Director, National AgFamilies Head Start Association (NAFHSA)
Presenters
- Anali Alegria, Director of Federal Advocacy and Media Relations, Child Care for Every Family Network
- Alyssa Fortner, Policy Analyst, Child Care and Early Education, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP
Resources from the Event
| -> Download CLASP Slides | -> Download the Child Care for Every Family Network’s Slides |
| CLASP’s Universal Child Care Blog Series | Forthcoming Q&A Document |
| -> Subscribe to the CLASP’s Child Care and Early Education quarterly newsletter | -> Subscribe for more Equity Matters Updates! |
| Blog Series
This series explores a shared vision for universal child care and CLASP’s efforts, alongside partners, to turn this vision into a reality. |
| Fact Sheet
How the First Year of the Trump Administration Undermined Child Care and Early Education In its first year, the trump Administration repeatedly undermined families’ access to child care and early education. This fact sheet documents these actions, outlines efforts to defend critical programs, and makes clear the urgent need to protect providers, children, and families from further harm. |
| Blog
The Trump Administration Continues to Undermine Early Childhood Education in 2026 This blog details how the Trump Administration continues to the harm child care and early education sector in desperate need of support. |
| Reports
Documenting the Impact of Harmful Immigration Policies During the Trump Administration’s Second Term Based on interviews and focus groups with immigrant families and service, including child care, providers, these two reports build on CLASP’s numerous reports on the harm of immigration policies during the first Trump Administration, while demonstrating how much more severely immigrant families are feeling the impact of these more punitive and draconian policies. |
| Report
Child Care Assistance: How Existing Federal Policy Helps Families Afford Child Care This brief provides an overview of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) by examining the program’s history, funding structure, eligibility requirements, and participation trends, while highlighting persistent gaps in access for eligible families and declines in provider participation. |
| Report/Fact Sheets
Child Care Assistance Landscape: Inequities in Federal and State Eligibility and Access Across a national-level report and state-level fact sheets, this project discusses variations in eligibility and access to Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) subsidies in 2020. It analyzes state-level Administration for Children and Families CCDBG participation data by state, race, and ethnicity, with analysis on both state and federal income eligibility limits. |
| Blog
This blog explores how the ingrained inequities in the child care and early education sector are intergenerational. It describes how a history of oppression adapts across generations, ensuring that systemic barriers continue to affect Black early educators, families, and children today. |