Quality of Early Care and Education

Family-friendly policy solutions should respect the inherent values and rights of parents, infants, toddlers, children through 5 years of age, and the early education field. When families with young children don’t have the right to choose high-quality care and education experiences, children’s developmental health suffers alongside families’ economic stability and U.S. economic prosperity. The Early Childhood Policy team promotes progressive policies and strategies that support infant and toddler well-being as well as high-quality child care and early childhood education in state and local communities.

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States Are Taking Action To Address the Child Care Crisis Article
An empty classroom is pictured at a New Glarus, Wisconsin, child care center.

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.

Anna Lovejoy

Data Dashboard: An Overview of Child Care and Early Learning in the United States Report
Preschool students in Washington, D.C., are joined by the interim chancellor for District of Columbia Public Schools.

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 Article
A 3-year-old walks to a park with her family in Rockville, Maryland.

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.

the CAP Early Childhood Policy Team

The Child Care Sector Is Still Struggling To Hire Workers Article
A teacher leads a morning warm-up session for young children in Frederick, Maryland.

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.

Rose Khattar, Maureen Coffey

CAP Comments on the EPA’s Proposed Rule on Lead Dust Levels in Child-Occupied Facilities Sign-On Letter

CAP Comments on the EPA’s Proposed Rule on Lead Dust Levels in Child-Occupied Facilities

The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in response to the agency’s proposed lower lead dust hazard standards and clearance levels for child-occupied homes and child care facilities.

Strengthening Early Childhood Health, Housing, Education, and Economic Well-Being Through Holistic Public Policy Report
A child stacks duplo legos to make a tower in a Head Start classroom for children ages 3 to 5.

Strengthening Early Childhood Health, Housing, Education, and Economic Well-Being Through Holistic Public Policy

The preschool years present a critical developmental period sensitive to changes in public health and social policy, for which robust investments in programs that support families can improve intergenerational outcomes.

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