Access to Affordable Early Care and Education

Fact Sheet: Using Federal Preschool Grant To Build State Early Learning Systems

The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five program is a valuable tool for increasing families’ seamless access to early care and education programs.

Governors Are Calling for Investments in Early Care and Education

Echoing 2023, governors from both political parties prioritized child care and pre-kindergarten in their 2024 State of the State addresses.

States Are Taking Action To Address the Child Care Crisis

Federal COVID-19 relief funding for child care stabilization grants ended in September 2023, but a number of states have stepped up this year to address the child care needs of working families.

Building a Comprehensive State Child Care Agenda

Join CAP's Early Childhood Policy team to learn how the recently released data dashboard and state policymaker toolkit can be used to increase investments in child care and early learning programs.

Data Dashboard: An Overview of Child Care and Early Learning in the United States

The Center for American Progress has developed a data dashboard that allows users to explore national- and state-level data trends on a range of child care and early learning topics, including access to affordable care, the child care workforce, Head Start, and exclusionary discipline policies.

Related Resources on Child Care and Early Learning

This webpage offers a list of resources that can help make the case for investments in child care and early learning at the state level.

How To Expand Access to Affordable, High-Quality Child Care and Preschool

This webpage provides a menu of state policy recommendations and examples of state policies to expand access to affordable, high-quality child care and preschool opportunities.

Messaging and Communications To Promote Early Childhood Education

This webpage offers guidance on messaging and communications to promote child care and early childhood education in states.

Early Childhood Education in U.S. States

This toolkit provides information and resources to help state policymakers advocate for increased investments in their state child care and early learning systems.

The Child Care Sector Is Still Struggling To Hire Workers

Amid a tight labor market and lack of sustainable funding, the child care sector’s shortage of good jobs persists, exacerbating its challenge to attract and retain workers.

Health Equity in Early Childhood Policy

Federal Child Care Legislation Over the Past Decade

The past decade of child care legislation illustrates an increase in bipartisan action on the child care crisis and highlights the need for Congress to enact legislation to support a federally funded comprehensive child care system.

5 Things To Know About the Child Care for Working Families Act

The Child Care for Working Families Act aims to expand access to and lower the cost of care for families, support child care workers, and address racial and gender disparities in the child care system.

3 Ways States Can Expand and Sustain the Infrastructure Workforce by Meeting Child Care Needs

To improve recruitment, training, and retention in the construction industry, states should utilize infrastructure funds to address workers’ child care needs.

Top 5 Actions Governors Can Take To Address the Child Care Shortage

Governors must take the lead in instituting policies that fairly compensate early childhood providers for the skilled work they perform, incentivize the creation of programs in child care deserts, and relieve families of the high cost of care.

Strengthening Home Visiting To Promote the Health and Well-Being of Indigenous Families

The reauthorization and expansion of a key home visiting program could support better outcomes for Indigenous parents and young children.

Disparities in Housing, Health Care, Child Care, and Economic Security Affect Babies for Life

Social determinants of health, such as access to secure housing, family employment and economic stability, education, and child care, must be the focus of federal policies to support infant and toddler health.

The Economic Realities of Child Care

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.

Increasing America’s Child Care Supply

With additional funding, an existing federal subsidy program could forestall closures and supply losses in the child care sector until policymakers secure meaningful investments.

Examining the Powerful Impact of Investments in Early Childhood for Children, Families, and Our Nation’s Economy

Rasheed Malik testified before the House Budget Committee on July 20, 2022, on the importance of investing in early childhood programs.

Women’s Stories on Economic Justice and Health Care

This CAP Action storybook features women in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire whose stories center on issues from prescription drug pricing and health insurance, to child care and paid leave.

Still Underpaid and Unequal

New, comprehensive data on child care workers in center-based programs—analyzing their demographics, education, experience, and wages—reveal widening pay gaps and inequality.

Rural Communities Need Federal Child Care Investments

Targeted, long-term investments would help the many families in rural America who desperately need child care.

Child Care Spending Generates Massive Dividends

Major child care investments pay for themselves through a range of benefits, including improved child and family health, bolstered educational outcomes, and economic recovery.