“Historically, child care was primarily about workforce support — ensuring kids were looked after while parents earned a living. But that perception has changed, with many parents recognizing the immense benefits of early education. During the early days of the pandemic, when child care and preschool options were suddenly unavailable, parents witnessed firsthand how much their children needed structured environments with peers. The social, emotional and cognitive development facilitated by early education became clearer than ever. As a result, many parents are now proactively seeking high-quality early education ... because they see it as an advantage rather than a fallback.” | | |
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A new survey from Common Sense Media finds that 51% of children age 8 and younger have their own tablet or cell phone. They also found that there was a 65% increase from 2020 to 2024 in young children using devices for gaming, rather than watching shows or videos. | |
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Ohio
State lawmakers are considering a bill (HB 41) that would appropriate $20 million over the biennium (FY 2026-27) for child care “capacity grants” to help employers build new child care facilities, renovate or retrofit existing spaces, or create partnerships with existing providers to improve child care access for their employees. Also outlined in the bill is a plan to establish an employer-based child care “co-design learning lab,” funded at $500,000 over the biennium, to identify innovative strategies to expand child care capacity in Ohio with a special focus on rural or underserved communities.
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Cleveland.com takes a deeper dive into Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed OhioSEE program to provide free vision services and glasses for children in need, as part of his overall focus on early literacy. | |
A pilot program in King County, Washington, is paying some early educators additional income — up to $8,300 annually until 2027. Funding for the pilot comes from the county’s 2021 Best Starts for Kids property tax renewal, which raised $25 million to support early education. This funding also subsidizes child care costs for families. The county is working with a national nonprofit to study the effects of the pilot program over time. | |
The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University has a helpful and comprehensive initiative tracking state early childhood policy actions — a reminder of how, at their best, states can act as “laboratories of democracy” and learn from each other. Like Ohio with its currently proposed Child Tax Credit, many states are considering tax changes to the CTC or to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIT). Others, like Kansas, are moving to consolidate early childhood programs into a new Office of Early Childhood, which can streamline the delivery of early education and intervention services. Ohio made a similar move by creating the Department of Children and Youth in 2023. | |
Another incredible tool published by Prenatal-to-3 is its policy clearinghouse, which offers reviews of evidence on various state policy ideas. | |
A new report published by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, provides an overview of the national early childhood workforce. Drawing from nationally representative data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education, the report shares data trends on the size of the workforce over time, workforce characteristics based on type of setting (e.g., centers or home providers), and demographic characteristics including gender, age, language spoken, race, and more. | New America’s Better Life Lab has a great explainer on paid and unpaid leave policies in the U.S., including details on which states are implementing paid leave programs. | |
A new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) think tank found that the cost of child care exceeds the price of college tuition in 38 states. Using both federal and nonprofit data from 2023, EPI compared the monthly cost of infant child care to the cost of tuition at public colleges. Ohio lands as the 16th most expensive state for child care, with costs averaging $17,071 a year or $1,423 monthly. | |
This edition was written by Jamie O’Leary and Janelle Williamson.
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