Impact Area

Positive Early Learning Experiences

While parents and the family are the primary influence on young children’s healthy development, early care and education providers also play a significant role.

Policy Priorities

Commitment to Early Care and Education As a Public Good

Government support for high quality programs, including workforce supports and compensation strategies, are vital to expanding equitable access to child care.

The Yearbook data indicate that child care remains unaffordable in every state, with the cost of infant care ranging from 7.3 percent of a two-parent family’s income in Mississippi to 16.7 percent in California, all greater than the federal affordability standard of 7 percent of family income. Even for families who can afford it, care is difficult to access. RAPID survey data reveals that during every month from January 2022 to April 2023, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of parents looking for infant-toddler child care had difficulty finding care.

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Key Findings

From January 2022 to April 2023, more than 75 %

of parents looking for infant-toddler child care had difficulty finding care.

In general, families with lower incomes are less likely to use nonparental care.

Family friend and neighbor caregivers are often overlooked in quality initiatives. This is concerning given the high usage of this type of care for infants and toddlers.

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Child care remains unaffordable in every state, with the cost of infant care ranging from 7.3 percent of a married family’s income in Mississippi to 16.7 percent in California—all higher than the federal affordability standard of 7 percent.

The State of Babies

The state where a child is born and lives during their first three years makes a big difference in their chance for a strong start in life. See how your state stacks up—and view where significant disparities exist in the opportunities available for babies.

We have a daughter with complex disabilities and medical needs. Even before the pandemic, we could not find the child care [that] she needs. There isn’t a child care center around that has staff trained to care for our daughter, or who can offer her the one-on-one attention that she needs. And for us and many other families, child care needs to be more than high quality – it needs to be affordable.

I go to work confident every day that my child is thriving in her environment. But the provider is 20 minutes from our home, a 40 minute round trip commute. There are a lot of childcare options closer to us, but they fail to meet the most basic licensing requirements and have not committed to continuous quality improvement (yet). So we wake up earlier and we drive so that her safety, nurturing and developmental needs are met. I’m grateful that we have this option and the flexibility to do so.

As much as I value our sitter's work, and as much as my kids cherish her, that three to four hours each week barely puts a dent in my family's childcare needs. But I am not sure that our sitter could provide different hours or that we could afford to pay for more than halftime care.

State Policy Initiatives

Learn how states are improving outcomes for babies by searching ZERO TO THREE’s collection of articles highlighting innovative state policies and initiatives, searchable by issue area or state.

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