Child Care Matters: Built to Break

Why do families, providers, and policymakers have such a hard time accessing the information they need, and how is that gap making an already strained system even harder to navigate? In this episode, we'll look at why the lack of data on supply, demand, cost, and more makes it challenging for policymakers to make informed decisions. 

Policy and legislation at the federal, state, and local levels form the foundation of what we refer to as our holistic "child care system." In this episode, we examine the history of child care legislation in the United States, the problems caused by siloed decision making, and the states that are making real progress on these issues today.

Last episode, we followed the money and found a significant gap between what quality child care costs and what families can afford to pay. But low margins and minimal compensation are just two of many issues providers are struggling with every day. From burdensome licensing regulations to building codes and ratios, this is a job that requires no small amount of sacrifice. 

As child care costs continue to climb for families and the child care workforce struggles to make ends meet, we're asking the question "Where does all the money go?" In this episode, we examine how the money flows through the system, and why the gap between what quality care costs and what families can afford to pay leads to an unsustainable system.

For parents, finding affordable child care can feel impossible. For child care providers, just keeping the doors open can feel unsustainable. In the debut episode, we set the stage for the issues we'll be exploring this season, with support from multiple expert guests.