We are committed to advancing progressive policies with bold, family-friendly solutions that equitably support all children, families, and early educators.
A male teacher and a student playing with toys at a classroom table. (Getty/Maskot)
Ensuring access to affordable early care and education
Half of all Americans live in neighborhoods classified as child care deserts with little to no access to child care. We promote bold policy solutions to the child care crisis that will expand access and affordability, bringing an inclusive and racially equitable vision to life.
Building family economic security through child care
Child care is an investment in economic infrastructure, and lack of public investment negatively affects parent workforce participation, family economic security, and the U.S. economy. We need to establish comprehensive solutions that invest in all families.
Promoting quality of early care and education
Family-friendly policy solutions should respect the inherent values and rights of parents, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the early education field. We promote progressive policies that support the well-being of our youngest children and high-quality early learning in all communities.
CAP works in partnership with allied early childhood advocates across the country to expand access to quality, affordable child care and early learning opportunities. StateOfChildCare.org and the Grassroots Movement for Child Care and Early Education are two collaborative initiatives that bring together the expertise of allies in early learning.
The Center for American Progress’ Early Childhood Policy team is committed to creating and advancing progressive policies centered 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.
Congress Should Guarantee Medicaid Continuous Coverage for Pregnant Women and Children
Congress has a narrow window to help preserve insurance coverage and improve both postpartum care and children’s health outcomes when the public health emergency ends.
The Child Care Sector Will Continue To Struggle Hiring Staff Unless It Creates Good Jobs
Child care sites across the country are facing immense challenges hiring and retaining staff amid a shortage of good jobs, leaving parents struggling to find care and placing increasing stress on the workers that remain.
Child care often is treated like a private family issue, but lack of access has cascading negative impacts on child care providers, small-business owners, and broader communities.
With additional funding, an existing federal subsidy program could forestall closures and supply losses in the child care sector until policymakers secure meaningful investments.
New, comprehensive data on child care workers in center-based programs—analyzing their demographics, education, experience, and wages—reveal widening pay gaps and inequality.
A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families
Understanding how the key social determinants of health—including housing, employment, and education—affect perinatal health is critical to ensuring that federal policies support healthy babies and families.
Why K-12 Teachers and Their Students Need Investments in Child Care
To meet the caregiving needs of the K-12 educator workforce and the developmental needs of the youngest students, the United States needs sustained, significant federal investments in the accessibility and affordability of high-quality child care.
3 Ways Federal Investments Can Address Child Care Deserts in America
Comprehensive, sustained investments in child care can create historic opportunities to transform the system by building supply, expanding affordability, and supporting the workforce.
Congress must act now to resolve the nation’s infant and specialty formula crisis by addressing supplies, cost, and accessibility and then take steps to prevent future shortages.
4 Reasons the U.S. Economy Needs Comprehensive Child Care
Building the infrastructure for a robust child care system would have wide positive reverberations for the nation’s businesses and broader economic recovery and growth.
