Child care is one of the hottest topics in public discourse today, and for good reason. The sector is finally (if a bit slowly) getting the attention it deserves, and several universal truths have emerged:

1. The ROI for early childhood investment is staggering. From a purely economic standpoint, few investments pay off as strongly or as consistently as early childhood. The National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs estimates returns between $4 and $9 for every $1 invested in high-quality early childhood programs.
2. Child care is a bipartisan issue. Although specific strategies and priorities may differ from right to left, all of society benefits from well-funded and well-functioning early care and education systems.
3. Child care is ripe for modernization. We’re not going to see sustainable gains by pouring more money into the old way of doing things. Better data and technology infrastructure can reduce barriers to entry, improve efficiencies, and give policymakers the data they need to make informed decisions.

CCDBG For Stay-At-Home Moms?

The New York Times reported early in September on the White House’s plan to propose an expansion of Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) subsidies to families with a stay-at-home parent. You could almost hear the sigh of exhaustion from ECE advocates and professionals across the country, many of whom have been fighting tirelessly against the recent Head Start NPRM.   

We should call this out for what it is: bait. For one thing, the administration has no authority to do this. That should be enough, but given the recent climate of executive overreach, we have learned better than to just hand-wave these things away based on such novel concepts like “precedent” or “legality.” As has been largely true with the efforts to undermine Head Start, there is no evidence that congressional Republicans support this proposal, and a lot of evidence that they would rather talk about strengthening and reauthorizing CCDBG through bipartisan efforts like the Child Care Modernization Act. 

For those who maybe don’t have the context and are walking into this conversation wondering why stay-at-home parents shouldn’t receive financial support in the way working families do, it’s important to stress that most people in this space agree that they should. The problem lies in the math. CCDBG is a chronically underfunded program that has always been intended to help low-income families access child care specifically so parents can remain in the workforce, pursue education, or participate in job training activities. Per a 2024 report from the Office of Human Services Policy, only 15 percent of eligible children under federal rules (and 22 percent under state rules) received child care subsidies, and two-thirds of the funding for those subsidies comes from CCDBG. 

In short, the funding is not going to the wrong people. There just isn’t enough of it. The Mommy Wars serve only to further divide an already divided society, which might be the goal of this action in the first place with midterms looming. Parenthood should be an economically feasible pursuit in the world’s largest economy, full stop. But it’s not. Instead of fighting each other over which parenting model is best (which is a straw man anyway because many families don’t even have the option to stay home with their children), we need to come together to figure out how to make raising a child in America more affordable for everyone. 

Read: A Child Care Proposal That Pits Struggling Families Against One Another (Forbes)

Read: First Five Years Fund’s Sarah Rittling in Opposition to Reported Expansion of Eligibility for Federal Child Care Subsidy (FFYF)

Child Care Solutions Celebrated On the House Floor 

Speaking of Congressional support for CCDBG reauthorization, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education welcomed leaders from Iowa, Kentucky, and Tennessee on September 1st to share their innovative approaches to building stronger child care solutions through tax credits, employer partnerships, workforce compensation and incentives, common-sense regulation reform, and strategic approaches to subsidy programs. 

One thing that stood out from the hearing was the recurring theme of the economic argument for investment in child care accessibility and affordability. Witnesses repeatedly pointed to the flexibility in CCDBG and Head Start that enables them to customize their systems to meet the unique needs of their communities. 

Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (I-California) set the stage for the productive conversation in his opening remarks: 

“The states represented here today are demonstrating what long-term commitment can look like, not because government funding is guaranteed forever, but because supporting child care strengthens the workforce, improves productivity, and fuels local economic growth. Their examples show what is possible when innovation and responsibility meet, and we hope they will inspire other states to follow their path. Because when child care works, parents can work, businesses can grow, and communities can thrive.”

Read: Hearing Recap: “Supporting Working Families: State-Led Child Care Solutions” (Committee on Education & Workforce Blog)

Bipartisan Bills of Note

We typically use this space to highlight bipartisan proposals as they’re introduced in Congress, but this month we want to celebrate one of the rare ECE bills that was actually passed into law with the President’s signature on September 18. The Supporting Early-Childhood Educators’ Deductions (SEED) Act, first mentioned here in April, will allow early childhood educators to claim tax deductions for out-of-pocket classroom expenses, bringing them in alignment with their K-12 counterparts. It’s a small win (worth $300-$350 per teacher), but a welcome one. 

Read: STATEMENT: SEED Act Passes Into Law (FFYF) 

Updates From the States

Illinois turned tragedy into action with the passage of House Bill 2190, which requires child care providers with more than 12 children to have two on-duty staff members with first aid, CPR, and Heimlich training at any given time. The law, three years in the making, was inspired by the 2023 death of 23-month-old Calum Wells atop a toy bin in his Island Lake child care center. Read: Illinois bill signed into law setting new emergency training requirements after toddler’s death at Island Lake daycare center (Lake & McHenry County Scanner)

Massachusetts is pulling $31.2 million from their Fair Share Supplemental Budget (funded by the state’s “millionaire’s tax”) to reopen applications for its Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) programs for the first time since 2024. With more than 31,000 children currently on the waitlist, the influx of funding won’t be enough to serve every family that needs the support, but it is a step in the right direction. Read: Mass. expands child care financial assistance to income-eligible families (GBH News)

Michigan took a step toward regulatory improvements that would “eliminate unnecessary double licensing requirements for preschool programs operating within Michigan schools.” House Bill 5803 passed the House and is on its way to the Senate. The bill would eliminate the need for preschool classrooms operating in public and nonpublic K-12 school buildings to comply with both school and child care licensing standards, an issue that has caused redundant paperwork and operational red tape. Read: Rep. Bierlein plan to end double licensing for school-based preschool programs passes House (EIN Presswire) 

North Dakota legislators passed on the opportunity to discuss a bill addressing child care needs across the state, with the House and Senate voting not to take it up at all in their respective September special sessions. “At this point, we just don’t have the time to dig into it,” said Rep. Matthew Ruby (R-Minot), “And simply throwing money at it might not be the best way to go about it.” Approximately 1,900 North Dakota families are currently on the waitlist for the state’s childcare assistance program. Read: Legislature rejects Dem-led attempts to add childcare, data center moratorium for special session (North Dakota Monitor)

Texas was forced to cut nearly 10% of their child care scholarships (~14,000 seats) just one year after tapping into TANF for $100 million in to expand the program. The funds that were supposed to last through 2027 instead dried up ahead of schedule due to inflation. Now, several regions will need to begin making cuts before the year even ends. The state has relied heavily on federal funding, and is now dealing with the fallout of social safety nets being cut and no new money on the way from D.C. Read: Texas cuts child care subsidy program. Here’s what that means. (The Texas Tribune)

In other Lone Star State news, Dallas County’s highly touted $1 million Tri-Share pilot has experienced the same implementation challenge we’ve seen with every local attempt at Tri-Share—namely, employers aren’t lining up to participate. The county has seen only two businesses sign on, with two more waiting to enroll, for a total of just under $140,000 in distributed funding. Tri-Share has received a lot of attention and support from communities throughout the country, but we will need to see a successful local rollout at some point to justify the opportunity cost. Read: Dallas County’s childcare cost-share program struggles to attract employers (KERA News)

Top pick of the month: A Child Care Trust report ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their child care workforce systems. The report looked at 10 domains from defining the workforce through determining compensation supports, assigning points to each state based on publicly available data and supplemental information from lead agencies. It offers a clear and actionable path for those states that are currently struggling the most with workforce shortages and diminished quality to do better. Read: Toward a Competent, Stable Child Care Workforce

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center released their always anticipated annual State Policy Roadmap, which measures state adoption and implementation of designated policies and strategies for families spanning the (you guessed it) prenatal-to-3 years. The highlights of this year’s report include 23 states raising the minimum wage, three new states implementing paid family and medical leave, and strong progress on child care access and affordability in at least five named states. Explore: The 2026 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap

zero2eight published an insightful interview with economist Sarah Jane Glynn, author of the report Who’s Minding the Kids These Days?: An Analysis of Children’s Care Arrangements. The conversation centered on the many ways in which families—especially mothers—are making compromises, finding workarounds, and organizing their lives around making sure their children are adequately supervised in some way, shape, or form while doing what they need to do to keep their families afloat. Read: Many Families Rely on a Patchwork of Childcare

The ACF Office of Child Care published a brief case study on Texas’ approach to CCDF program integrity. The article focused on three best practices: layered oversight and clear role separation; operational rigor through quality assurance, data, and analytics; and strong, collaborative culture that supports compliance and integrity. Read: How Texas Achieves Strong Program Integrity in CCDF

August 2026 Updates

Head Start In Peril (Again)

If this feels like a familiar headline, you’re not imagining things. Head Start has been under attack from various angles for the entire of this presidential administration, from shuttered administrative offices, to delayed grant funding, to the recent whittling away of the standards and requirements that make the program what it is today. 

For those who don’t know, the infamous Project 2025 playbook published by the Heritage Foundation in the lead-up to the last presidential election called for the complete elimination of Head Start. The Center for American Progress called attention to the proposal in June of 2024, alongside an overview of the many proven benefits Head Start offers to American families. 

Last year, the administration batted around the idea of trying to defund Head Start through the congressional budget process in preliminary documents related to the president’s budget request, as reported by the Washington Post in April of 2025. When the White House realized they would not be able to garner buy-in from even an otherwise compliant Congress for those efforts (Head Start has historically enjoyed massive bipartisan support), the proposal was ultimately removed from the request. 

This year, the administration has begun wielding Notices of Public Rulemaking (NPRMs) like a bludgeon, advancing elements of its agenda without the checks and balances typically required of federal programs. In May, Restoring Flexibility to Support Head Start Program Access was released, rolling back initiatives that would have paid Head Start educators a living wage, increased access to benefits, and promoted compensation comparability across Head Start, Early Head Start, and public preschool alternatives. 

This month, ACF released Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs, an effort to strip away most of the federal regulations that make the program what it is in favor of state control. This should not come as a surprise to those familiar with the work of Alex "Bonfire of Regulations" Adams, who, prior to leading ACF under this administration, was most well-known for his failed attempt to completely eliminate required child-adult ratios in Idaho.

The marketing of the NPRM has been couched in familiar language that appeals to the conservative base, including “expand access,” “reduce red tape,” “trust parents,” and more of the usual suspects, providing the necessary political cover for an obviously ill-intentioned maneuver. Adams' assertion that money saved can be "reinvested in higher-value things, such as teacher pay..." is almost diabolical in the wake of the NPRM from just two months ago that ripped the federal promise of increased compensation away from the Head Start workforce. In truth, the general consensus is that these changes will actually result in larger class sizes, a less qualified workforce, explicitly less support for children with disabilities and those who speak languages other than English, fewer parent choices, and a general reduction in the quality of the learning environment. 

Unlike many who find themselves in more sensitive positions, I don’t feel obliged to sugarcoat this or talk around it. The executive branch realized there was no viable path to disbanding Head Start overnight, so they called an audible to instead set the program up for a protracted death by a thousand cuts. The process will be long, it will be painful for families and educators alike, but make no mistake—the outcome will be the end of Head Start as we know it unless someone (looking at you, Congress) puts a stop to it. 

I want to emphasize that this is still just a proposal and Congress still holds the purse strings. The best (only?) way to save Head Start now is to make a big deal out of this, write or call your representatives, submit a comment, and spread the word. The public commentary period is open through October 5.

Additional resources: 

• State of Play: The Head Start NPRMs (First Five Years Fund)
• The Quiet Dismantling of Head Start: How the Trump Administration Is Using Regulation to Reshape a Program It Can’t Eliminate (Aaron Loewenburg for New America)
• Press Release: Fewer Rules Cannot Mean Fewer Results (National Head Start Association)

Bipartisan Bills of Note

That was fast! Just two months after the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued two reports on challenges within the military child care system, Reps. Brittany Peterson (D-Colorado) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pennsylvania) introduced the Supporting Our Military Childcare Workforce Act, to address issues with staffing, retention, and compensation that are leading to diminished access to high-quality childcare for military families. The Bill was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services on July 23. 

Read: H.R.9930 - Supporting Our Military Child Care Workforce Act (Congress.gov)

Indiana Community Invests in Child Care Access

Allen County, Indiana, which includes the Greater Fort Wayne area, is home to a new $2.5 million Childcare Bridge Fund, supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. The investment will supplement the state’s overstretched Child Care Development Fund dollars, helping working families pay for care and alleviating a small amount of pressure on child care providers. 

Enrollment in the Bridge Fund will happen through a relatively unique invite-only model, wherein “eligible families will be identified through participating childcare providers and coalition partners.” The fund “is expected to support about 150 families and 30 to 40 childcare providers during the implementation period.” 

Read: Community Foundation, other partners launch childcare bridge fund for Fort Wayne area (The Journal Gazette)

Updates From the States

Arizona has seen its child care waitlist grow from 2,000 in 2024 to 13,500 today. In a state where the average cost of care is more than $16,000, two consecutive years of underfunded child care ($45 million compared to an estimated $160 million to clear the waitlist), has led to a growing crisis that will need to be addressed sooner than later. Read: Arizona childcare assistance waitlist jumps to 13,500 (Arizona Capitol Times)

Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed two bills (SB 278 and SB 293) that will enable more families who rely on the state-funded Purchase of Care subsidy program to access summer camps with those funds, while also simplifying and clarifying licensing requirements for summer camp providers. “The changes are designed to allow more summer camps to serve families receiving Purchase of Care assistance without lowering health and safety standards.” Read: Governor Meyer Signs Bipartisan Legislation Expanding Access to Affordable Summer Childcare for Delaware Families (Delaware.gov)

Guam needs $7.6 million to fund its child care subsidy program through Q3 of this year after falling behind on provider payments, which haven't yet been disbursed for June. The last-minute request appears to have come as a surprise to the state legislature, which called a recess on the special session in which it was to have been approved. In the interim, providers have been increasingly vocal about the urgency of the situation and a perceived lack of transparency from the Department of Public Health and Social Services. Read: Childcare providers speak on recessed session to cover $7.6m in subsidies, late payments (Pacific Daily News)

North Carolina may need to mix things up a bit to better monitor and track compliance in its child care centers. A performance audit released at the end of July showed that “unannounced” compliance visits too often followed “repeat scheduling patterns,” which “weakens the oversight value of the division’s monitoring activities…” The Division of Child Development and Early Education largely disagreed with the findings and recommendations of the audit, but did agree to clarify their policies and monitor scheduling practices. Read: Audit: NC child care center visits too predictable (The Carolina Journal)

West Virginia’s Department of Human Services is struggling to meet implementation deadlines for their landmark piece of child care legislation from the most recent session, House Bill 4191, which changed the state’s child care subsidy model to pay-by-enrollment, expanded the childcare tax credit for businesses, and mandated administrative changes to the subsidy program, including an electronic filing system for providers. The department has pointed to additional “policy, operational, and technology work” that needs to be completed before the changes can be implemented. Read: WV Department of Human Services hasn’t implemented lawmakers’ key childcare bill by deadline (West Virginia Watch)

Trending Original Research and Reports

Top pick of the month: The National Conference for State Legislatures (NCSL) brought together a bipartisan group of 13 state legislators known for their leadership in child care policy for multiple meetings over the past two years. The primary takeaways from those meetings were summarized in a July report that provides a framework for state governments looking to address some of the most pressing issues in early care and education, including access and affordability, workforce development, modernizing licensing and quality systems, strengthening small businesses, planning for the future, and elevating early childhood governance. Read: Childcare at a Crossroads: A State Legislative Framework for Strengthening Childcare Systems (NCSL)

Elliot Haspel analyzed a recent poll-based report from Joan C. Williams and Jared Abbot that touched on the topic of messaging and why it’s so important in the child care conversation. Of note: support for universal childcare from working-class voters jumped from 55% to 83% when the question “Do you favor or oppose a universal system of subsidized childcare?” was reframed to “Do you favor or oppose ensuring that all children have access to affordable, high-quality childcare so parents don’t need to quit jobs they need to support their families?” It’s a good reminder that semantics matter. Read: One Weird Trick To Getting Working Class Support for Family Policies (The Family Frontier by Elliot Haspel)

First Five Years Fund published a new national survey of approximately 1000 likely voters throughout the country. The survey found “that families see child care as a key driver of the nation’s affordability challenges and believe policymakers should take action to make child care more accessible and affordable.” Read: July 2026 National Child Care Poll (First Five Years Fund)

New America published a resource for policymakers, agency leaders, and advocates on the critical topic of building better data infrastructure for early childhood systems. The resource features two best-practice case studies from Kansas and Chicago, along with common trends, implementation challenges, other promising approaches, and more. This has been a recurring theme in our blog—the ECE data gap is widening and it’s time to take action. Read: Count What Matters: Building Data Infrastructure for Early Childhood Systems (New America)

Zero2Eight shined a light on the trend of fathers finally catching up to mothers in taking paid family leave. Did you know that prior to 1994, only 4.5% of dads took parental leave? That number has shot all the way up to 26.5% by 2024, but large gaps remain in states that don’t offer paid family leave. Read: More Dads Are Taking Paid Paternity Leave (Zero2Eight)