Tell Congress: Families Deserve Affordable Child Care
The United States needs a comprehensive solution to make child care affordable for families.
Early Childhood
The Center for American Progress’ Early Childhood Policy team is committed to creating and advancing progressive policies centering on bold, family-friendly solutions that equitably support all children, families, and early educators. Key components of the team’s work include building actionable, inclusive, and racially equitable policies that serve all families regardless of income, geographic location, ability, gender, or race; believing in and supporting the inherent value and rights of young children (infants, toddlers, and preschoolers); valuing the early childhood teaching profession by providing livable wages and additional workforce supports; and building new systems with equitable investments in families.
These Interconnected Policies Would Sustain Families, Support Women, and Grow the Economy
Together, the policies included in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better agenda would propel families’ and the country’s economic security by prioritizing child care, the child tax credit, paid family and medical leave, and good jobs that get Americans back to work.
COLUMN
The True Cost of High-Quality Child Care Across the United States
Millions of Families Are Struggling to Address Child Care Disruptions
Growing the Economy Through Affordable Child Care
Optimizing Distribution of American Rescue Plan Funds To Stabilize Child Care
The Build Back Better Act Would Greatly Lower Families’ Child Care Costs
The Build Back Better Act would ease a significant burden on middle-class families’ finances, lowering their child care costs by more than $100 per week in most states.
More Than 125 Economists and Public Policy Scholars Agree That Investing in Child Care Is Necessary for Children, Families, and the Economy
Experts urge congressional leadership to make long-overdue investments in child care and early learning.
CAP and Partner Organizations Launch State of Child Care Resource
State of Child Care project advocates for an increase in the Child Care and Development Block Grant so that U.S. families, workers, and the economy can work.
The U.S. Child Care Crisis Explained
The lack of affordable and high-quality child care has disproportionately pushed women out of the workforce for decades. It is long past time for the United States to provide adequate, sustained funding and end the child care crisis.
CAP and ECE Organizing Network Launch Grassroots Movement for Child Care and Early Education Website
The Movement for Child Care comprises diverse national organizations across the country that are committed to expanding affordable child care and early education.
Building Back Better: Investing in Improving Schools, Creating Jobs, and Strengthening Families and Our Economy
Rasheed Malik, senior policy analyst for Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress, testified before a hearing on the importance of investing in schools and child care to strengthen families and the economy at the U.S. House of Representatives on April 28, 2021.
Support Federal Child Care Funding!
Please pledge to support federal child care funding that goes beyond COVID-19.
An Expanded Child Tax Credit Would Lift Millions of Children Out of Poverty
Congress must not miss the opportunity to improve children’s lives and reduce economic and racial inequality.
6 Ways To Ensure Preschool Contributes to an Equitable Early Childhood System
The Biden-Harris administration has an opportunity to create a world-class preschool program that addresses racial and income inequities, but it must be part of a continuum of support for children from birth to kindergarten.
Saving Child Care Means Preserving Jobs and Supporting Working Families and Small Businesses
To prepare the child care sector for the future, America must invest significantly in the child care workforce and provide quality, accessible, affordable child care for all.
The Basic Facts About Children in Poverty
Nearly 11 million children are living in poverty in America. Here is how the crisis reached this point—and what steps must be taken to solve it.
Tell Congress: It’s Past Time to #SaveChildCare
Congress must pass a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package that includes at least $50 billion to save the child care industry for families and providers.
State and Local Wins Illustrate National Demand for Early Learning Investments
Communities across the country have passed state and local ballot measures to increase public funding for early childhood services, demonstrating a path forward for federal action in 2021.
With Decreased Enrollment and Higher Operating Costs, Child Care Is Hit Hard Amid COVID-19
A statewide survey of Colorado child care providers shows unsustainable business conditions and bolsters the need for federal child care relief.