Happy New Year! As we move in to 2024, what’s happening in child care? Here are some of the topics and trends I’m paying close attention to.
Child care woes continue to undermine economic growth and prosperity. This is even more true in rural communities, where the shortage of licensed care is particularly stark. For example, one rural community I’m working with only has one (year, you read that right!) licensed slot for infants. This severe shortage of care means that many women are not able to participate in the workforce. Families are spread thin, and parents and kids suffer as a result. KFF Health News recently published this piece that provides a good illustration of the challenge and highlights a report published by the Bipartisan Policy Center last year.
Informal (unlicensed, Family, Friend, and Neighbor - FFN, kith and kin, ohana) care continues to be the primary child care arrangement for many families (some by choice, some not). As licensed care continues to limp along due to chronic underfunding and an unsustainable business model, I see the role of FFN care as increasingly important to support families, especially those who are working. But relying on the unpaid labor of family members is not a sustainable solution to our child care challenges, and it will be important for policymakers to capture opportunities to support FFN care providers with both education and financial resources. This report from November 2022 highlighted the kinds of supports that are provided by states, and the fact that nearly half of states have no supports available. I also loved this story from Hawaii highlighting the deeply rooted culture of “ohana” care there.
In case you’ve been living under a rock - 2024 is a presidential election year. As always, elections matter - not just the presidential election, but every race at the federal, state, and local levels. I am a huge proponent of paying attention, asking candidates about the issues that are important to you (including child care!), and voting based on your most important issues! I think that child care is particularly prime for bipartisan collaboration and problem-solving. There is no shortage of people on both sides of the aisle who understand the problem, and while there are some important differences in the suggested ways to address the issues, there is a lot of room to work together and find solutions. The 19th is predicting that child care will be an important issue in the 2024 election (it is if we make it one!), and the First Five Years Fund shared polling results on child care in the middle of last year. Keep this one on your radar, do your homework, and make sure to vote!
Happy 2024!
