Hailey Gibbs is a senior policy analyst for Early Childhood Policy at American Progress. Her work focuses on the social and economic benefits of investing in early child care and education; promoting equity through child care access and infrastructure; and best practices in supporting children’s learning for the 21st century. She has written for Medium and The Conversation and has contributed to the Brookings Institution’s Education Plus Development blog. She has also published in a variety of academic journals, including the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Cognitive Development, and Child Development.
Prior to joining American Progress, Gibbs worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Temple University Infant and Child Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, on projects focused on expanding equity-based, culturally relevant learning opportunities in public spaces through the Playful Learning Landscapes initiative. Gibbs earned a degree in psychology from Salisbury University and a Ph.D. in human development from the University of Maryland.
Hailey Gibbs and Maureen Coffey make the economic case for a comprehensive federal child care package.
States received an influx of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to stabilize their child care industries. Key policy strategies that center equity ensure that these funds reach the people who need them most.
The American Rescue Plan provided much-needed funding to protect the child care sector from collapse, but long-term investments are critical to achieve lasting infrastructural change.
Major child care investments pay for themselves through a range of benefits, including improved child and family health, bolstered educational outcomes, and economic recovery.
