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 per 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.

March 2026 Updates

The "Universal" Trend Gains Steam

Are universal child care and Pre-K having their moment? 55 years after the infamous Nixon veto of the Comprehensive Child Development Act, which would have codified early care and education as a right for “all children regardless of economic, social, and family background,” state officials and candidates throughout the country appear to be growing more comfortable making universal child care and/or Pre-K a cornerstone of their platforms. 

Back in January, The Guardian published an article by Elliot Haspel highlighting the evolution of universal childcare as a “mainstream position within the Democratic party.” The article called out gubernatorial candidates in Wisconsin and Georgia, a congressional candidate in Maine, and a mayoral candidate in DC as having “taken up the universal childcare mantle.” 

Fast forward a little over a month, and we can see that mantle taking shape in several places. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek announced the formation of an Early Childhood Care and Learning System Roundtable at the end of February that will, among other things, look to “create a blueprint for universal pre-K in Oregon.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani opened March by announcing “the first major milestone in their plan to deliver free child care for two-year-olds in New York City.” State and city officials are taking a phased approach toward the end goal of both universal child care and Pre-K. The following week, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham officially signed the state’s groundbreaking universal child care program into law, adding that “New Mexico is ready to assist in helping others turn the vision into reality for families across the nation.” 

The fact that these ambitious goals—which would have seemed politically improbable just a few years ago—are actually coming to fruition is a positive sign for those who believe ECE should be a universal right. We will be closely monitoring both the progress of these programs and the elections that could bring the issue to the forefront in even more states over the next couple of years. 

Follow-Up Read: Universal Pre-K Is a Hot Policy Idea. But What About Kindergarten? (EdSurge)

Bipartisan Bills of Note

U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Dan Sullvan (R-AK) introduced the Child Care Tax Benefit Outreach and Assistance Act, which would create a new Business Child Care Liaison housed within the IRS to support the business community in better leveraging federal child care tax incentives and other tools, especially the 45F tax credit. 

This bill would help close the knowledge and awareness gap that leads to underutilization of available funding and resources. By establishing a clear point of contact focused solely on removing barriers for businesses to support their employees’ child care needs, Congress has an opportunity to bring more businesses to the table in child care conversations, creating another vital pathway toward addressing the child care access and affordability crisis plaguing much of the country. 

Read: Statements of Support for the Child Care Tax Benefit Outreach and Assistance Act

Along similar lines, the Small Business Dependent Care FSA Opportunity Act, introduced by Representatives Adrian Smith (R-NE), Danny Davis (D-IL), and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), would lower barriers specifically for small businesses interested in offering dependent care flexible spending accounts (DCFSAs) to their employees. 

This bill would incentivize businesses with 100 or fewer employees by creating a tax credit to support establishing and administering DCFSAs. It would also cover the startup and administrative costs, along with employee education on the benefit. The credit would range from $500 to $5,000 per year. 

Read: Smith Leads Bipartisan Bill to Help Small Businesses Support Working Families

Some States Advance Solutions...

Maine moved toward securing a sustainable future for their Child Care Affordability Program with LD 1955, which directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a long-term plan for it by the end of this year. The bill also provides $15 million to hold the program over through FY 26-27. It was sent to Governor Janet Mills just days before she signed LD 1728, which lowered family co-payments and changed the payment model for subsidies to one based on enrollment, rather than attendance. 

Virginia has a couple parallel bills in motion: one to get a better handle on the funding levels needed to fully support its child care subsidy program, and one to launch a Tri-Share model called the Employee Child Care Assistance Program with $25 million in seed funding next fiscal year (the House version) or spread across the next two fiscal years (the Senate version). All of this is happening on the heels of Governor Abigail Spanberger’s recent election, for which she campaigned on a platform of lower costs for families and support of public education.   

West Virginia senators overwhelmingly signed off on House Bill 4191 on March 13, concluding a years-long process to improve child care supply by reimbursing providers based on enrollment rather than attendance (note the common theme) and expanding the state’s business tax credit for employer-sponsored child care facilities. The bill also directs the Department of Human Services to address the “child care subsidy cliff” tied to changes in family income that traditionally have caused an immediate cessation of assistance once parents reached eligibility thresholds. 

...While Others Take a Step Back

Idaho legislators on both sides of the aisle expressed outrage at the introduction of a bill that appeared to include language straight from a well-known vendor’s marketing department. This blatant attempt to skirt competitive bidding by including exclusionary, vendor-specific messaging for both “Program Oversight” and the creation of “up to 600 licensed child care programs” comes on the heels of last year’s narrowly averted disaster (also in Idaho), in which the same vendor’s lobbyists tried to eliminate child-to-staff ratios altogether. Can we all agree that legislation written by corporations with clear conflicts of interest should never make it to the Senate floor, or is that just the naive, sweet summer child in me? 

Here at Child Care Matters and BridgeCare, we believe fair and competitive RFP processes are the best way for states to get the most out of their investments, just like we believe that buyers should be well-informed about what they’re looking for. 

Read: 6 Questions to Ask When Evaluating ECE Software Vendors

Washington is drastically cutting both early learning and K-12 education in the face of an ongoing budget crisis, even while raising spending by nearly $1.7 billion. Its child care subsidy program stands to lose nearly $800 million over the next two years due to a move from pay-by-enrollment to pay-by-attendance, a change that will almost certainly force some providers to close their doors. The state is also cutting a third of its transition to kindergarten slots for savings of approximately $25 million per year. 

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers vetoed a proposed child care tax credit expansion for employers, stating that the expansion was vague and did not provide “the necessary funding for proper implementation and the clarity necessary to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.” Wisconsin is currently experiencing a severe child care workforce and supply crisis, amounting to approximately 33,000 unfilled slots across the state. 

Trending Original Research and Reports

New America published a series of articles under the umbrella of Debunking Either/Or False Choices about Pre-K Curricula. The articles were a response to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s report, A New Vision for High-Quality Preschool Curriculum, and the common false dichotomies noted within. 

• Read: Social-Emotional and Cognitive Learning (Carrie Gillispie)
• Read: Play and Academics (Aaron Loewenberg)
• Read: Emergent and Scripted (Noelani Mussman)

First Focus on Children released Babies in the Budget, an eye-opening examination of the federal share of spending on infants and toddlers for the past five fiscal years. The big takeaway? In FY 2025, “the United States devoted just 1.59% of all federal spending to children under the age of 3.” We know babies can’t vote, but that’s not nearly enough. Read: Babies in the Budget

ICYMI: February 2026 Updates

FY26 Early Care and Education Federal Funding Levels Set

Amid another (albeit much briefer) government shutdown, the House passed—and the President later signed into law—a series of spending packages for FY26. The bills included: 

• $8.831 billion for CCDBG (+1%)
• $12.357 billion for Head Start (+.7%)
• $315 million for PDG B-5 (flat)

In the face of a year full of threats and cuts to adjacent programs, there’s a silver lining to be found in the fact that it could have been far worse. That said, the gap between funding and affordability only widens every year that funding fails to keep pace with inflation (+2.7% in 2025). That’s not even factoring in the many other variables that will negatively impact the families and providers who benefit most from these funds in the year to come. While it’s great that we got something passed, we have to do more in the year to come. 

Read: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Bill (U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations)

Spotlight on State Accountability for Publicly Funded Programs

No matter what happens over the next ten months, program integrity is shaping up to one of the defining ECE themes of 2026. We covered the “fraud” story in detail last month, and watched the early fallout closely in February. Here’s what happened: 

• The Senate HELP Committee held a full hearing on Restoring Integrity: Preventing Fraud in Child Care Assistance Programs. The committee heard from three witnesses representing different parts of the system and Senators on both sides of the aisle voiced support for oversight and concerns about funding limitations.
• Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) introduced the Payment Integrity Act, which would codify the pay-by-attendance model after HHS proposed rolling back the 2024 Final Rule changes that required states to pay providers up front based on enrollment.
• Ohio became one of the first states to advance legislation stemming from the controversy, with proposed bills to require pay-by-attendance, bypass county prosecutors in favor of the Attorney General’s Office for fraud prosecution, and even require cameras at all “entrances, exits, and ‘general non-private’ areas in child care centers.
• Indiana Governor Mike Braun created the Council on Fraud Detection and Prevention via executive order. The group has been tasked with meeting regularly to review the state’s handling of federal programs, institute fraud prevention strategies, and recover improper payments, with a report due to the governor by November 1.

However you feel about how we got here, most everyone agrees that we don't want to see a single dollar of these already underfunded programs go to anyone besides the families and providers they were meant to support. We expect every state to take a long, hard look at their existing processes and controls this year, knowing that many are working with one hand tied behind their backs due to fragmented systems and legacy technology. We are well past time for states to get serious about modernization. 

Bipartisan Bills of Note

Senators Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Todd Young (R-Indiana), and Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) reintroduced the After Hours Child Care Act. Companion legislation was also introduced in the House by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon) and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa). The Act would expand capacity for licensed programs serving those who work nontraditional hours, support on-site child care in the workplace, require a 25% match of federal funds, and mandate regular reporting on the program’s effectiveness.

Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) proposed reauthorization of the Healthy Start program, which “supports community-based efforts to improve maternal and child health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy.” The program specifically provides funding for communities with “disproportionately high rates of adverse maternal and infant health outcomes.” Healthy Start currently supports 115 projects throughout the country via $145 million in annual funding. 

Early Care and Education Dominates State of the State Addresses

Of the governors who delivered State of the State addresses prior to February 17, a whopping 72% addressed “child care, early learning, or policies supporting new parents and infants.” Those governors represented both the Republican and Democratic parties—another reminder that this is and will continue to be one of the most important bipartisan issues of our time. 

Read: Child Care Takes Center Stage in 2026 State of the State Addresses as Governors Focus on Affordability and Economic Stability (First Five Years Fund)

Several states have already taken action in the opening weeks of their legislative sessions, including:

Iowa passed House File 2514 with near unanimous support (86-3) at the end of February. This bill makes the state’s pilot program for providing free child care to child care workers permanent. The move essentially lifts Iowa’s Child Care Assistance program income restrictions for those who work at least 32 hours a week in the field. The cost will come in at around $12 million per year and would support recruitment and retention of qualified staff throughout the state.

Kentucky, where the massive House Bill 6 just passed with overwhelming support to now be taken up by the Senate. The bill addresses licensing regulations, quality, affordability, governance, data, and much more in what would be a sweeping review and modernization of the state’s ECE system. House Joint Resolution 50 would mandate an independent review of administrative regulations and agency processes related to opening and operating licensed and certified child care services. Senate Bill 191 would launch a pilot program for $2,000 cash payments to child care providers when students entering kindergarten pass a readiness assessment. 

Missouri legislators are hoping the fourth time’s the charm for a set of three child care tax credits designed to support philanthropic investors, providers, and employers. The bill has bipartisan support, but has failed to reach a vote in any previous session. 

New Hampshire is looking to reduce barriers to entry for child care providers caused by local zoning issues. House Bill 1195 would exempt small child care centers from local regulations and require local government bodies to allow home-based care in all dwellings that meet the state’s child care licensing standards. This would be a positive step for Family Child Care providers in the state, who make up a crucial and growing piece of the child care puzzle. 

New Mexico overcame some early hiccups and a significant amount of debate to pass Senate Bill 241 in an almost-party-line vote (25-15). This legislation would codify the eligibility and application requirements of their universal child care program. It also allows up to $1 billion to be diverted from the state’s early childhood trust fund and adds triggers for co-pays from higher-income families and wait lists if necessitated by changes to the economic climate.  

South Carolina’s S 47 bill would “dramatically expand tax credits for employers who provide childcare benefits,” raising caps from $3,000 per employee to $12,000 per child and adding incentives for on-site centers and direct benefits for the child care workforce tied to qualifications. This comes in response to the state’s labor challenges, with the Department of Social Services pointing to data showing only 43 available adults for every 100 open jobs due in part to child care constraints. 

Trending Original Research and Reports

Elliot Regenstein’s new book, Readiness: Preparing State Early Childhood Systems for a Brighter Future “examines how states govern their early childhood systems, highlighting the progress made in the last 25 years and identifying some key issues that need to be dealt with in the years ahead. The book does a thorough job of highlighting a variety of strategies and programs, then parlaying those insights into evidence-based recommendations for action. It gets a solid two thumbs up from Child Care Matters. Read: How States are Strengthening Their Early Childhood Systems (Elliot Regenstein, New America)

The Brookings Institution partnered with the Virginia Department of Education to conduct research on the consequences of insufficient access to subsidized child care. The result was “one of the largest surveys to date examining the experiences of families who are eligible for, but unable to access, child care subsidies.” An astounding 76% of those who found themselves on a waitlist reported working less than desired, with nearly half leaving their job to provide care. Read: What happens when families cannot access child care subsidies? (Brookings)

Zero2Eight and The 19th published a timely piece on the unique challenges faced Olympic athlete mothers. The article offers a behind-the-scenes look at how hard (and costly) it is for athletes to compete at the highest levels with young children by their sides, to say nothing of the adversity faced while training and preparing for Olympic participation. Read: Olympic Mom Athletes Lack Child Care and Other Support During the Games (zero2eight)

The Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) highlighted the state’s growing early childhood workforce staffing crisis with an eye-catching report showing the widening gap between licensed capacity and available educators. In group child care programs alone, nearly 30,000 potential slots are sitting vacant due to staff shortages. With 25% of the workforce existing the field in 2024 and recent trends only exacerbating the issue, the state needs to take action now to make the profession more attractive. Read: Filling the Gap: The Implications of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Workforce Staffing Crisis (WECA)