---
title: 'America''s Childcare Crisis: Understand It to Fix It'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=tx2QkyxtqS0'
video_id: 'tx2QkyxtqS0'
date: 2026-08-05
duration_sec: 3080
---

# America's Childcare Crisis: Understand It to Fix It

> Source: [America's Childcare Crisis: Understand It to Fix It](https://youtube.com/watch?v=tx2QkyxtqS0)

## Summary

This video features a discussion with Miriam Calderon, Chief Policy Officer of Zero to Three, and Elliot Haspel, author of 'Crawling Behind: America's Child Care Crisis and How to Fix It', about the ongoing childcare crisis in the United States. They explore the root causes, the impact of the pandemic, the impending funding cliff, and potential solutions, including international examples and policy recommendations.

### Key Points

- **Defining the Childcare Crisis** [01:12] — The crisis is not new; families have long struggled with waiting lists, affordability, and accessibility. The pandemic brought increased attention, and the term 'cliff' refers to the expiration of federal relief funds.
- **The Non-System** [03:35] — Elliot Haspel describes the US childcare as a 'non-system'—a mishmash of private providers and parents paying high costs, with educators subsidizing the system through low wages.
- **The Funding Cliff** [04:16] — During the pandemic, the federal government passed over $50 billion in childcare relief. This funding is expiring, and surveys indicate most programs will raise fees or risk closure.
- **Historical Context** [05:55] — Post-WWII, mothers entered the workforce, but the US never built a public childcare system. A 1971 bipartisan bill to create one was vetoed by Nixon, setting the US apart from other countries.
- **Pandemic as Accelerant** [08:21] — The pandemic shattered the fragile equilibrium where low wages kept costs down. Now, other low-wage industries are raising pay, making it harder for childcare programs to compete for staff.
- **State of Babies Yearbook 2023** [09:56] — Miriam Calderon discusses the report, highlighting that most babies are of color, many face economic insecurity, and geography matters. Childcare is one of five imperatives needing urgent action.
- **Impact on Mothers and Workforce** [15:02] — 62% of mothers of infants and toddlers are in the workforce. Lack of childcare forces mothers to leave jobs, disproportionately affecting women of color in lower-wage positions.
- **Declining Birth Rates** [18:14] — The US has 900,000 fewer infants and toddlers than five years ago. Lack of family-supportive policies like affordable childcare and paid leave contributes to this decline.
- **International Comparisons** [24:47] — Countries like Canada, Germany, and Ireland have made significant reforms, such as Canada's $10-a-day childcare. The US stands alone in not addressing the issue.
- **Path Forward** [30:49] — Solutions require political will and power-building. The immediate need is passing the $16 billion stabilization fund, with long-term transformative legislation.
- **Government Shutdown Impact** [38:09] — A shutdown would have ripple effects, especially on programs like WIC and Head Start, and could affect childcare funding in negotiations.
- **Vouchers and Universal Access** [42:03] — Some states are expanding subsidy eligibility, but Elliot argues for universal access, comparing childcare to public schools or libraries.
- **Key Takeaways** [47:22] — Elliot urges people to talk about childcare as a societal issue, not just a family problem. Miriam emphasizes that this is a decision point and we must insist on government action.

### Conclusion

The childcare crisis is a systemic issue that requires a fundamental shift in how the US funds and supports early care. Without immediate action, the situation will worsen, but there is hope if we build political will and demand change.

## Transcript

challenges faced by parents Educators and the younger generation to shed light on the root causes and far-reaching effects of the chalko crisis I'll be speaking to Miriam Calderon Chief policy officer of 0 to3 a
national nonprofit that provides parents professionals and policy makers the knowledge and knowhow to nurture early development an Elliot hasel the author of crawling behind America's Child Care crisis and how to fix it and the
director of climate and young children at capita before we dive into the conversation I want to remind our live audience on insider.com that you can submit questions from Miriam and Elliot using the Q&A box here on the event site
towards the end of this event but you can also join the conversation on social media using the hashtag Insider events and for people watching here at insider.com I'd like to ask you a question is the state of childcare in
the US woring you can respond to the question using the Pauling box below thank you Miriam and Elliott for joining me today so to kick things off I like to start with a more practical question we hear the term Child Care crisis a lot
lately some even refer to it as a child care Cliff but what does that mean and care Cliff but what does that mean and where are
we OT do you want me to start go for ahead okay all right sure absolutely um so I love this question um I think uh when you first think about crisis you can think about difficulty and trouble and I think the first thing I really
want to say is that um the child care crisis isn't new like families have long crisis isn't new like families have long struggled um with waiting list um care you know hard to find care that's affordable uh that meets their needs
preferences uh you know the kinds of options in their community that are accessible um easy to get to Early Childhood Educators have long struggled with pay inadequate working conditions this is the system we've had for long
what does that mean I think about the part of that defin like the part of that word that means turning point opportunity for change um and I think that's where we're
at like the pandemic really brought increased attention to the challenges of child care um I was leading an agency at the time responsible for Child Care during the pandemic and our phone was Ring ringing off the hook at the start
of the pandemic from businesses calling to say how do I open on-site child care the pandemic when businesses were closing onsite Child Care um we were subsidizing um child care and new and different ways during the pandemic to
help keep um the doors open with public dollars so you know it's not fixed but um we are headed in a different direction um I think it's a kitchen direction um I think it's a kitchen table issue now and I think that um
we're at a point where you know we need to uh keep going in where we're go the direction that we're going um to stabilize the sector um and um and that really is going to take funding um and and then pursue long-term Solutions and
and then pursue long-term Solutions and or we can you know not act quickly and it can actually get worse um so I think that's where we are yeah I absolutely one of those rare uh issues that works for No One it doesn't work for anyone
doesn't work for the providers doesn't work for the children doesn't work for businesses like no one's actually benefiting from this system in fact and we can talk about this if you want cons but we don't really have so much a child
care system in America as we have some Advocates called a non system we just never sort of dained to actually create one and so it is this mishmash of private providers and parents being asked to to pay a lot and providers uh
the actual Educators sort of subsidizing everyone else by taking very low wages Cliff which I think a lot of parents have heard about and what that refers to is during the pandemic uh the federal government passed upwards of $50 billion
government passed upwards of $50 billion dollar of child care uh relief and 24 to child care programs to help keep enrollment dropped right and childcare in this country is treated much more
pay to play and if you don't have you know sort of tuition coming in you can't keep the doors open and then after the sort of parents started putting the kids back in child care there were big issues around Staffing uh you know other uh
low-wage Industries retail fast food or raising their compensation Child Care some of this funding was also letting Child Care programs offer higher wages Child Care programs offer higher wages that money is expiring in three days uh
not literally like a cliff where they're going to fall off it's sort of going to different in every state but the point is that child care programs are gonna have harder and harder time uh operating and what all of the surveys tell us is
that the vast majority of them are going to first raise their fees they're going to actually raise parent tuition even higher and many of them do risk uh the not being able to continue operating at all you both mentioned the pandemic and
we're going to touch a little bit on that in in a second but um how do we get here like was this coming all along for the US like you said ellot there was no chier system is just rigged of you know parents doing
their best Educators doing their best so like how how do we get here today and ell if you want to start sure so in America as in in most countries in the world starting around the sort of post World War II there started to be a
steady increase in mothers entering the workforce is really picked up in the 196 60s and by 1975 you had half of all parents half all mothers of children under the age of five in this country were working outside the home that's
about two-thirds now of uh young children have all of their available can do one of two things in that situation you can either create a child care system that has sort of Public Funding behind it similar to the public
schools right where there otherwise it costs so much to provide the service that the economics get really wonky and you have to ask parents to pay a lot and small amount of money and there was a moment in
1971 uh where there was this bill uh it passed both houses of Congress on a bipartisan basis and it would have created the start of a nationally funded locally run network of child care programs uh and it got to President
Nixon's desk and he vetoed it in pretty strong language saying basically like we're not going to put the federal government in the family realm like that's a family thing and that's sort of was the the break point so you can see
many other countries starting in the 70s and on started to build up their systems uh America never did they said you know what it's a family issue let's let the free market deal with it and as a result you ended up with again parents having
to Bear the vast majority of the cost burden but the thing people don't they year for my kids's child care how are these Educators not how are they making that they can't keep their lights on in these programs and the fact is that the
the cost of providing Child Care is exceptionally High because you need a lot of humans you should want a lot of humans in small raos of adults to Children you know in many states it's four um infants for one adult it'll be
like six or seven toddlers for one adult and so when you think about how much that means for personnel costs the actual true cost of care is much higher programs are taking a loss on a lot of
those kids and the only then when we have situations where there that big gap we asked parents to pay for it and the government didn't put any money in uh you know we ask public dollars to fill that but ever since the 70s the US has
never put public dollars in any significant amount into the system and and we are now you know we're reaping what we
before the pandemic even showed us how essential Child Care is to many are things going as you predicted did the pandemic speed up some something that was maybe inevitably coming for the US yeah um you know and after I talk I
think Mar her organization just released a a new report just today with even more data on this uh I think we had a very fragile equilibrium uh before the pandemic where Mar's right wasn't working well but if you paid your
Educators $14 an hour and McDonald's paid their Educators $4 an hour their workers $14 an hour you can maybe keep Staffing kind of like working um that equilibrium has has shattered now the the labor force which I personally think
is a good thing right you're seeing work base base pay you know go up in fast base base pay you know go up in fast food and Retail and many other sectors uh but again these Child Care programs can't keep up so when I wrote the book
uh was right when it was an issue it was a crisis you had uh you know major candidates for federal office talking about it in you late 2019 so clearly it was not headed in a good direction but the pandemic was this accelerant that
the pandemic was this accelerant that made all of those trends go uh basically again like that equilibrium is shattered and this isn't a pandemic hangover like understand this this is not going to get better uh this is only going to get
worse unless there is a major change in how we fund and support child care in child care as a way for supporting families in this country y Miriam 0 to3 released their
new report today the state of babies year book 2023 can you tell us a little bit about it and what it says about the state of childcare in America right now sure absolutely so the you know the state of babies yearbook uh really tells
a story about um our in infants and toddlers um in their families in the United States um we look at how they're fairing at the national level um and in all 50 states um so we know um the majority of our babies are babies of
color so um their diversity is a strength and we know that um it is also true that um far too many babies um particularly babies of color um uh a
defining experience is economic insecurity High rates of poverty and low income um and that geography matters a lot about the conditions um and experiences that babies have the states and communities where they live um uh
matters a lot and that's really about the responsive policies I think think that are in place to be able to support um babies and families and their healthy development and so Child Care is one of five imperatives that we call out where
the data tell us urgent action is needed um at the federal level um and in states to really um create more Equity across States within States um and you know to
really address uh the needs of babies um and their healthy development um specifically within Child Care um you know we are continuing to see um the in uh increased use of uh non-parental I mean increased use of non-parental care
so again what we're seeing is a lot of the same um patterns and needs we saw pre pandemic right that Elliot was talking about um uh you know that have been patterns building from decades right these are um we talk a lot about
family choices family you know even use the word Freedom right families um you know families increasingly made choices um about having all available adults um being in the workforce right around what is best for their families um and
particularly we when we think about the economic security and their own economic realities that they need to be able to have their families Thrive um so childcare is an essential support for that um and so we're seeing that need
but we're still seeing the same patterns families um with lower incomes um in this market-based system struggle um to be able to to you know be in this market right and to be able to have options so they're relying um a lot on um you know
more parent options right they have less ability to navigate this really complex Market um we are seeing um those kinds of patterns we're seeing as well um a lot of difficulty with infant um and
toddler care again we know that those were also um really important um patterns we had seen again pre pandemic they're holding true right less availability of infant Childer care higher costs for that um as well um and
then I'm very related to the issues we're seeing with Supply um that we talk about in the report um uh is the availability of the workforce right so will we see um uh the M you know businesses able to keep classrooms open
to be able to stay open to be able to you know uh serve more families on weight list is really going to be very closely te tethered in tied to do they have staff can they keep staff can they um fill um vacancies um and we talk
about in the report a lot about burnout um and we use um uh uh we have a great partnership with a Stanford Early Childhood Center um then the rapid survey where they um you know regularly survey caregivers um working um and
Educators working in childcare settings who talked a lot about the connections between um burnout um and recruitment retention so even for you know the staff they're experiencing because of a lot of this churn and the vacancies um and sort
of what's Happening um there as well as we know just um the challenges with low wages and working conditions and what that has continuously meant um for the you know how difficult it is to to keep Staffing so you know again um really
concerning patterns and again this is with uh funding that we know that Public Funding that iot talked about that has still been um helpful um in really being
still been um helpful um in really being able to stabilize the sector so uh if this is what it looks like now with with that funding um you know really helping to stabilize the sector um imagine what it's going to look like um in the weeks
and months and you know um to come uh when that funding is no longer available obviously the childcare crisis affects parents and families but it goes beyond that Miriam I read in your research that 62% of mothers of infants
and toddlers are in the workforce so what happens if these mothers can't afford or find child care and like what are the rep repercussions for the country if they can't send their kids to child care right well you know what we
know is that mothers um this is inextricably linked with mothers you know mothers leave the workforce right uh Child Care is a big reason um they either you know when when we do have aord
a stable high quality Care um that really supports um mothers um and you know really families and parents being able to be um uh in the workforce um and
we know that um it can disproportionately affect uh uh workers who you know tend to be in lower wage jobs um that is again there's an over representation again of of of women of color um black and brown women um in
those lower wage jobs who can't really aren't in the kinds of jobs where they can even afford the high you know the high cost of child care just the math just doesn't work right um to pencil out what they would pay versus um what they
earn and so um we know that um it's inextricably linked um I at one point in my career had the honor and privilege of helping Implement Universal preschool um helping Implement Universal preschool um in my hometown of Washington DC um one
of the um you know features that um some researchers um were able to look at the benefits of that program in addition to benefits for children and academics and school Success was that it increased um maternal Workforce uh participation
right the availability of even just two years right um of of affordable and not even full school day or school year right preschool um helped um women be
able to stay in the workforce so um this is this is a key support um and we know that it uh is so it's great for that we know that's great for economy and I would be remiss and not mentioning um as well that there's um
the that the child care Workforce is also predominantly made up of women too so when we think about um the you know who uh women in the workforce we also need to think about um women um who work in this field um who uh work for very
low wages without benefits in in very difficult working conditions um often who can't um really afford care for their own children or often you know struggle with housing costs um don't have paid days you know a number of
important really benefits and so really more broadly if we want them to be able to stay in the workforce so that when they work other people can work and about this really globally right this is um the benefits of helping these women
really being able to keep women in the workforce so that our businesses and other econom you know economy uh can Thrive right and kind of kind of tied to to that question also Miriam in your research have you have you seen like are
people having fewer children or not having children because of the crisis and then again what does that mean for the future of the country right well um yeah we um have been this is the fifth edition of the state of baby's yearbook
um and so one of the um uh data points that we do track year-over-year is um the birth rate um and it was very uh you know startling um we had some internal conversations to realize um why we were we were seeing um declining birth rates
year-over-year um we were a bit taking back ourselves to realize that you know we have have in this um fifth year 2023 uh realizing that we Lo we have 900,000 uh fewer um infants and toddlers um than
when we uh first uh published um the yearbook um and so look I think that um yearbook um and so look I think that um we can unquestionably all um say that you know having um family uh supportive policies like affordable child care
policies like paid leave really really um acting out of our values that we espouse right that um we honor families and and Power families to make choices
um and we support families um that we care about children um that children are care about children um that children are our future and our present um and really supportive policies in place would really um uh you know um matter I think
um and do matter and we um hear that from families too um in you know some of the work that we do um and work that I've done previously families say you know I C I can't afford have more children or this is absolutely something
that goes into the decisions that we make um but you know it's obviously could be a lot of things that are contributing to that Trend um but I absolutely um believe that you know um stronger family policies um would uh are
definitely a part of what what we're seeing declining birth rates the lack of of of family policies are are part of part of this equation and I think if I could put like a fine point on that too like it's uh child care we talk about
its economic benefits which miam laid out very well and is absolutely true and I often say even if there even if those weren't there we would still want strong Child Care policy because we want to support family flourishing right like
America's very we're very good talking the talk about family is the Cornerstone of our society um but to actually make sure that families can make the choices that they want to be able to uh spend time with their kids the way they want
to be able to live the way the where they want we've you know there's plenty of evidence that families will move out of communities where they've invested their time where they're you know kids are going to are engag in activities
where they're engaged in a faith community and they they can't stay there because they can't afford or find childcare this is not just like expensive urban areas I read a story a few years back about families in in
Woodstock Vermont which is like a tiny 6,000 person town and they found like you know a bunch of their families were moving out like that's you know a Ethel to depopulating rural um you know towns that are struggling to keep population
and so this idea that you should you know Child Care is going to determine whether you have the family size that you want whether you can live where you the time because we haven't even talked
about quality yet right we need to feel good about where um you know what situation you have on the care side all of those things play into general family and we often I think sometimes treat child care too much just as a work
support or just as a as and that's can be a little bit limiting sometimes because it is so much more than that and the other thing I'll say is you know we talk about child care and we're not I think it's probably fair to say you too
your formal Child Care Centers right like the the preschools we think about about child care that includes the family child care home though you know the person down the street who's having a few people come in every day that
usually encompasses uh what's called friends family or Neighbor Care right so as well be your your family member who's watching your kid it can include stay-at home parents in other countries uh Child
parents so that becomes more of a viable option for families that want it so it can be very inclusive uh there has to actually be a policy or else you know again it's just we're putting the burden on families to figure it out and that is
on families to figure it out and that is really in it a it's makes them suffer families that they they want to be the parents that they want to be so I think there's a real fundamental questions of freedom and self-determination here ABS
oh absolutely I mean the most prevalent actually type of care for infants and actually type of care for infants and toddlers is um is that uh family friend and Neighbor Care um and that homebased care and so we are absolutely think
talking about um a you know a vision for a child care system um policy in this a child care system um policy in this country where we can support those those country where we can support those those caregivers um and um we can you know
make that um a kind of you know a a better Arrangement one that is more uh supportive of that caregiver one that um makes that you know more affordable for makes that you know more affordable for the family um and so that you know is is
absolutely I think part of what we can um solve I think sometimes you know the this get these uh these conversation get really polarized like uh you know to um
have uh this investment um have more Public Funding going into the system um we are talking about less choice for families um and that's not absolutely not um what we're talking about I think we're talking about you know we can
Envision a system where there we can continue to have a lot of choice and flexibility for families um the point about the dollars going in is really to be able to to stabilize and bolster a system um
that makes it um you know more stable more fair for the women working in the meet their needs and and can lower cost for families you touched a little bit on this earlier um when we were talking
about how the US got here um I'm from Argentina so sometimes I have like an outsider look but is what's happening in the US comparable to other nations and do we have any examples of how other countries are supporting working
countries are supporting working parents yeah so it's it's comparable in that there were sort of a suite of countries that ended up with market-based systems that had not much government support and and sort of heavy
parent fees and low accessibility uh where we kind of stand alone is that we haven't done anything about it so um if you look at countries that sort of are been our peers in this regard uh Canada Ireland Germany uh kind of Australia New
Zealand like these are all sort of followed that kind of track uh but over the past 20 years um those countries have made some tremendous uh reforms so implementing what they're calling their $10 a day Child Care System where that's
going to basically be the kind of fee that most parents are are paying uh and that's C costing quite a bit of public money in Germany as of 2013 All Families have a legal right to a slot in Child Care from the time their kid is one till
the time their kid enters School Ireland similarly they've actually passed you know quite a few hundred million dollars worth of of new public Investments and none of these places have solved it uh you know Germany's having supply issues
and things like that but the the mindset shift and the willingness to say look Child Care is a societal issue it's not just an individual family obligation um and we're going to start to put some serious Public Funding behind it um
you look at sort of what are often considered some of the best systems in the world which somewhat unsurprisingly kind like the Nordic countries usually rank high in that you'll see um again a lot of public money there's usually a
home care stip in state home parents can have if they want uh you know and they're usually their educators are paid fairly well and so this isn't it's not going to rocket science the the equation is get quite a bit of public money and
choices that are available make sure that there's a you know good options that there's a you know good options good Workforce like it's not uh we don't need to invent a new system we need to just finally start actually building one
so I think we do definitely have some International um examples we can use remiss to mention in any conversation about child care the reason I said Germany starts it at age one is because they paid family leave that goes right
country in the world has better Paid Family Leave policies than the us and that is a significant part of the equation it's it's often segmented out actually they're they're very tightly aligned right because that's often what
uh it provides childcare during the first you know six months to a year of a child's life in many of these countries so you don't see any infants in in child care in these countries so I'm seeing oh sorry go
ahead no no I mean I was I'm so yeah I'm so glad you mentioned um uh paid uh that's absolutely true I was just going to add that you know infant care is um
also you know from the on the business side one one of the more um difficult I think to make very again labor intensive I think we can all stop and ask ourselves like really how many um uh infants do we feel really comfortable
with you know one adult uh being you know caring for right where you know um know caring for right where you know um at one time and um and then you know do the math on like what you know what does that how much is that one adult getting
paid you know per baby and you know quickly you realize that um is is gets the cost you know per baby um really high um um I'm not going to do numbers there but it is it is really challenging I have had to do those numbers you know
as as somebody that has sat before you know state legislators and and had to justify a cost for child for infant care and and and it is really expensive um and so you know uh you see that um Paid Family Leave I think is an absolutely
important part of this conversation and I would just I think be remiss and not mentioning we do have um you know a number of of federal uh programs other programs where we see you know that they just don't have the reach right now so
you know to Elliott's point about just that sort of being behind I mean we you know we focused a lot on this um the really important the the and rightfully really important the the and rightfully so a uh you know the largest investment
that we saw during the pandemic and the impact that that had and this you know the fact that it is going away and we know and anticipate um there will be uh know and anticipate um there will be uh real challenges um as a result of that
other Federal programs like the childcare and development block grant um Early Head Start Head Start right where we have um uh uh you know where we subsidize the participation of uh you know we subsidize costs um for uh you
know low-income families families in poverty to be able to participate in early care and education programs so they those programs also help families work they also support the healthy development um of of children and um
young children and they are they have very limited reach you know Early Head Start is coming up on 30 years and it reaches 11% of infants and toddlers in poverty the child care um subsidy program reaches fewer than 5% of babies
and families with low to moderate income so we have failed to invest for example how they intentionally waited to have a second child uh in in
order to afford Child Care um how they're already paying close to 20% of their income for child care for two children so I think this is the question that a lot of our uh viewers are probably waiting for which is so how do
we get out of this crisis yeah uh so I will say part of political will and what I mean by that is that often has because it has been
coded as a family individual family issue is not seen as something in America that government needs to step up on and so politicians don't often feel a lot of pressure like it's interesting you look at all of the protests around
um say gun control around climate change or these other major or these other major issues there have been almost no sort of none there have been a few here and there but if your parents aren't in the
street about this which is fascinating you think about how deep and Broad of a States and red States this hits people who are low income middle income frankly upper middle class has trouble with with child care but they're EAS sort of a a
mass demand and so politicians are fairly uh I think think they feel much fairly uh I think think they feel much too comfortable dismissing Child Care uh and knowing they're not going to feel much of a consequence in that so I think
some of this was is power building work uh making sure that we have a movement for child care that is that is strong that is respected at the the you know to the way we get out of this is going to be government passing significant
some at the state level but it truly ultimately it's going to take the federal you know government doing that and there are bills on the table um to do that there are different proposals um even right now the most immediate one
stabilization act which would $16 billion doll it to basically continue the pandemic uh relief funding to kind of try to hold things together um but transformative legislation to get in to
where we were on the cusp of having a real system is gonna take uh parents allying with you know Business Leaders and and every kind of other stakeholder group to say like no this is something that the government needs to help
parents with it's not saying parents need to Bear all on the own until until that happens again like it's just we're going to continue down this path because frankly politicians have watched parents make it work for way too long at what
watched parents make it work that's what US parents do uh and I think that we need to change that equation if we're going to see a different going to see a different outcome absolutely um I yeah just to I
think to build on what um Elliot uh said I think first um and foremost um you know we've done um polling um some polling on this issue um also like connecting with families um and we've been lifting up a lot of the voices of
parents of infants and toddlers where we we continue to see these issues are very we continue to see these issues are very uh a matter and really are popular like investing more in child care Congress prioritizing investments in child care
uh Paid Family Leave policies the child tax credit you know which can help fam put money in family's Pockets you know to um afford many things including helping to free some cost with childcare Etc these things are popular with
families in red States blue States you know families that voted for uh Trump and Biden in the last presidential election um so this um point this uh you
election um so this um point this uh you know how this translates into uh the absolute just uh gridlock and partisanship that we see and lack of Effectiveness in Congress right now um is is I think and and you know is is
important like how are we're the accountability between you know what what we want to see what we say matters to families and how um our um policy makers particularly in Congress are acting on what families are saying they
want to see them prioritize I think it's important um and you know uh that so that's one piece um I think the second is um you know locally and at the state level um particularly I think in this immediate like you know crisis around
the cliff and um there is you know an opportunity there are a lot of Choice points that um and ways that local um and state governments um can um Step In the long term but I think that they can defray some of and they have a lot of
different tools um including Investments that they can make and so really I think being able to think about um at that local level um we've seen you know a number of states stepping in even to just try to make some Investments to
continue some of the funding um that's going to be um you know lost um from uh the funding that's going to be lost at the federal level um that can't happen everywhere um and won't happen everywhere and ultimately we need a lot
more Federal funding um and we need to pass the 16 billion um and I think that's the last point I'll make is that um I really I think it uh would be um a um I really I think it uh would be um a huge uh loss to um lose the $16 billion
in the stabilization funding and I'm stating the obvious here but um we have seen um uh there is such a great need for it uh as we've talked about in Elliott really articulated um you know the consequences
in terms of increased costs will go up this the sector is not stable um but also I think from a from a perspective of um back tracking on um you know what
of um back tracking on um you know what what we've built um in being able to begin to subsidize the vast majority of child care businesses across the country and their operations this is the future this is getting back to moving us down
the road of the P policy that you know we lost in the the 70s um it's critical um and you know when I think about what's happening the rest of this year priorities like Ukraine you know the Border
disaster relief spending all of these things are priorities and we have an emergency need at home a domestic priority in its child care and I think priority in its child care and I think it is at that level um and and so you
know the first I think showing power is like we we have to really um you know power building it's like we we have to insist I think um at that this be on
that same level um and you know do and I am hopeful that um that that it will be considered at that and I will be hopeful until you know um the last absolute moment um that we um about us really being able to get this money because
families need it um our providers need it communities need it um so we have to just keep keep fighting for that and we need everybody's voices um um pushing for that yeah before I move to my last
questions that are audience has been dropping off in the uh Q&A box um this is for both of you how do you see a potential government shutdown impacting families who received subsidized child care if at
care if at all you want to start there yeah um you all you want to start there yeah um you know uh I think it that is a a great know uh I think it that is a a great question I mean I think right now um the
you know answer is really it's it's a lot about the length of um I think the shutdown you know and I think you know that matters um um a great deal and you
that matters um um a great deal and you know in I think in the in the short term know in I think in the in the short term um you know there will be a a shorter uh period of time there will be um an ability for you know government state
and local governments um to be able to you know continue um with operations a lot of these funds have been you know are are already kind of in the system for lack of a better word and a lack of a better word and they're able to um uh
you know be able to kind of continue um kind of you know Distributing those resources um uh accordingly and able to continue operations um as this uh gets
um similarly at at at you know at the federal level um there's a lot of you know contingency plans essential functions um you know Wonderful public servants who will continue to work as essential workers with you know without
any pay um to be able to make the you know the bare bones of the system work I know the bare bones of the system work I think the longer um you know the uh think the longer um you know the uh shutdown um continues um you know the
more Ripple effects uh the more we'll feel um those effects um at the level of you know um as individuals um I know that um you know and that will vary by
programs right so for example a program like Head Start um you know may um be impacted you know um maybe more directly and sooner so a lot of this is dependent by program you know and it and there are variables um by you know um the length I
think as well of of how long the shutdown um goes for so I I you know I don't want anybody to think you know it's you know next week but um it is certainly um uh very serious and it and it is really important that um that you
know we work to resolve this and certainly the longer that it it goes on um I think the more um uh uh consequences there could be that you consequences there could be that you know impact everybody's daily lives yeah
that's a good great overview I think one there may some indirect effects so for example other programs that um affect families the wick program women infant children's nutrition program for example that will run out within days of the
actually have many Child Care Educators themselves who are parents who are rely Wick right so that's going to create stressors in the system um there's going to be less oversight of the the Medicaid redetermination process that is sort of
erroneously and that's going to could affect things so that's so those I'll say is there a question about there's going to be a deal at some point like what's it look like because if you
look right now what the house uh you know is sort of proposing very extraordinarily deep Cuts mostly targeting social programs like Child
Care Subsidy and Head Start uh you know grants for loow income schools now that's not gonna like be passed on a like in its whole sale but if there's a negotiation Child Care funding could get caught up in in any kind of spending
paying close attention to yes another question here is is um is a solution to get more parents to qualify for vouchers this person says I make just over my state cut off and I'm
almost incentivized to get a lower paying job to just views on this within the sector I'll say and you know that is generally been what a lot of states are pursuing New Mexico Vermont a few others have been doing
this where they're basically expanding who's eligible for subsidies up to a Mexico you can make up to like 115,000 or something like that a year and and qualify for subsidy my feeling on this and and again it's not Universal within
the sector is that actually we need to say if Child Care is truly an essential social good if it is akin to a public school or a library or fire department then like we need to stop worrying about income at all and say this everyone gets
access to this Bill Gates can send his kid to his neighborhood public school neighborhood public library and check out a book for free like there are some things in this country that we say are important enough that are have enough
make it Universal and not worry about that so I push pretty hard that that I not everyone even within the field agrees with me and that's fine but um I would say that is to the direct question
many states are pursuing that as a strategy um of expanding subsidy I would like to see uh it just become fully Universal yeah I would say this right now you know I think that when I think about that question I think about the
real like immediate um I think about the sort of to go back to Elliott's point the sort of
focused on more on public schools and we have state programs Federal programs children who are you know with developmental delays and disabilities or you know uh families in poverty again so experiencing poverty so all that to say
a one where maybe in the short term or in the immediate term um that's a choice point a State might be making right now to say you know uh this is a this is something that's in our control and we're looking at our particular State
context and this is a this this is something we can do and we're choosing to do and and that's a priority that we're making within one Federal program where we have the ability to do that the childcare and development block grant to
take a step back which I think is where Elliot was going is you know what's our Elliot was going is you know what's our vision for financing a early care and education system like if we really could build a system you know um that uh
a public good and created a right to early care and education um and one where it was affordable for families um or free you know as Elliot was just saying and we put that on the table um I think that um that's really the question
and that's sort of the longer term where we need to go and I think some states where you see you know like New Mexico or things I I really um admire places where and states where we're where they're trying to think about getting
from where they are now with the programs we have towards that longer term Vision right and you you don't get there overnight sometimes and you can't and and stronger partnership from the federal government and when I think
about the child care stabilization this will be my my last Point cons one of the reasons I keep coming back to those grants and why they were so transformational is because they directly subsidized the business not the
directly subsidized the business not the cost of participa for the family um and I think they and they have this broad reach into the vast majority of programs and providers including those family friend and neighbor
providers um that we talked about earlier so if that's the future right is you know we're GNA um that's really important to keep um getting money to support the operations right and I think um we need to keep doing that um to
stabilize the sector to be ble to build quality and I think different states may quality and I think different states may have different approaches um in this intermediary period about who they're deciding they're you know um they're
going to subsidize participation for and at what income levels but right now at what income levels but right now continuing to just stabilize the cost of staying open supporting that Workforce very directly um with wage enhancements
you know is is essential um and I think that's where we are right now and we um for a while until we figure out these longer term Solutions well we're running out of time I could stay here and talk about this
for hours because it's so important and so essential And Timely um but to close out our conversation I want to ask both of you what is one key takeaway you each have for audience either for caretaker caretakers or
takeaway is like vocal we have to talk about the fact that the child care again is not just something the parents need to be able to have to figure out on their own it's their problem if they can't find it
or afford it right we have to talk with our Network socialize this idea that look we all succeed when families succeed the the most frustrating thing I hear in this debate to like well why do you have a kid if you can't afford it
which by the way is not argument anyone levels once that kid turns five years old and is going to kindergarten but like that mind mindset of like your kid you deal with it is the biggest cultural mindset in America that is a barrier to
transforming child care and the only way I know to fight that is by everyone starting to within their circles within their networks talking not just to other parents but even to the non-parents to the older generations and explaining why
it is such an essential part like why getting support for child care is such an essential part of their flourishing and their thriving so that we can get to the point where uh we see it as a societal obligation
for society to support parents and children and flourishing and being the families that they want to be that's that's well said Elliot I yeah I think I will I will just build on that um I think to to where I uh you know
um I think to to where I uh you know started um I think we have uh we're at a started um I think we have uh we're at a real sort of decision Point um there is real sort of decision Point um there is um you know many um much more attention
um you know many um much more attention um on this issue and more people aware challenges um with child care and the importance of of child care all the reasons um you know I think we've talked about the benefits to Children um the
benefits to families um the benefits to businesses um to our economy and um we uh are you know we need to you know press forward and really uh continue to
ask you know in insist that government um you know prioritize this issue and I um you know prioritize this issue and I think we see that um in a lot of what you know where families are in the in the work that we've been doing is that
they believe that government it needs to solve this and they want government to solve this and they want government to prioritize it and so it's about really uh now insisting that there is um action and accountability um to um you know to
to follow up with that with that that sentiment and and um I don't want us to um really lose this moment I think because um it's been a long time coming
I think um to get to this point um and uh and I think again I'm hopeful um that it is not going to take 50 years as it did from the 70s to to get back to this
point so um I I think we're close and I I you know absolutely everybody um Can something and it will take all of us well thank you again Miriam and
conversation at the beginning of our event we ask our audience if the state of the child care in the US is woring them and 98% of our viewers said that they're concerned I hope our discussion not only helped to understand it but
also showed a path forward and thank you everyone for tuning in the discussion your thoughts using the hashtag Insider events and be sure to follow Insider and social media for more of our coverage on parenting and the childcare crisis you
can also find related articles in the zero to and the 0o to3 report report linked here on the event site on insider.com I'm conedy have a great day