Washington, D.C. — Access to affordable, high-quality child care remains elusive for countless American families. The Biden-Harris administration provided a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), but now those funds have expired, and policymakers must forge a path forward by continuing to make crucial investments in the nation’s vulnerable child care sector.
A new report from the Center for American Progress details how some states have been able to maximize their ARPA stabilization dollars to improve child care access for families across the country, offering a road map for leaders at the state and federal levels to continue the momentum toward a comprehensive, high-quality child care system.
Key highlights from CAP’s report include:
- More than 80 percent of all licensed U.S. child care providers—spanning more than 225,000 programs—received ARPA funds during the pandemic, which helped serve an estimated 9.6 million children.
- In 2023, more than one-third of all U.S. child care directors reported their programs would have closed permanently if it hadn’t been for the support of these funds.
- ARPA dollars enabled states to make crucial investments in their care supply networks, creating an estimated 300,000 new child care slots.
- All told, the combined ARPA funds were used to lower child care costs for more than 700,000 children.
- Flexible grants through the ARPA enabled states to increase compensation for more than 650,000 child care workers.
“Child care is a vital facet of any functioning society,” said Hailey Gibbs, associate director for Early Childhood Policy at CAP and co-author of the report. “Existing federal programs designed to support child care access among low-income families suffer from chronic underinvestment and structural limitations, leaving many parents and caregivers with impossible choices to make ends meet for their family. The United States needs to expand investments and address those limitations to better support child care as the public good that it is.”
“Together, the Biden-Harris administration and state policymakers have taken steps to address the child care sector’s shortcomings, especially during the pandemic—and we got to watch the positive impact in real time,” said Allie Schneider, policy analyst for Early Childhood Education Policy at CAP and co-author of the report. “That said, it’s going to take commitment and leadership at all levels of government to build on that momentum to create a sustainable, high-quality child care system that works for all families now and into the future.”
Read the report: “Pandemic-Era Funding for Early Learning Programs Showcases One of the Most Important Investments the United States Can Make” by Hailey Gibbs, Allie Schneider, Bri Crawford, and Casey Peeks
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].