By Shira Small

Across the country, parents, providers, and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administrators are struggling with a child care sector that doesn’t fully meet families’ needs or support the child care workforce. To discuss the state of child care, key progress that has been made, and the work yet to be done, we brought together a virtual panel of child care experts for a webinar series in October in partnership with Economic Policy Institute’s Economic Analysis and Research Network. These experts were:

• Belvie Herbert, Senior Administrator at the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services
• Carol Burnett, Executive Director of the Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative
• Charis Davis, Parent Leader at Ohio Parent Advocacy Network
• Kristi Givens, Founder and Executive Director of Kids of Excellence and Co-Founder of For Providers by Providers in Louisiana

To build on the knowledge and insight they offered during the webinar, this Q&A uplifts the panelists’ reflections on how their states are strengthening the child care sector and addressing the inequities that make child care less accessible for people of color and people with low incomes. Policy must be informed by people directly impacted by it, and we are grateful that our panelists were willing to share their perspectives on the change needed to create a more equitable, accessible, and affordable child care system.

Question for the full panel: We know that the state of child care is challenging across the country, though the needs of families and the workforce differ state to state. What does child care access look like in your state or community?

Belvie: Although Delaware boasts a mixed delivery system offering families choices, the demand for quality child care outweighs the supply. According to the Rodel Foundation, as of May 2024 the total licensed capacity statewide was 53,640 but the estimated number of children aged zero to nine was 109,075. The annual price for center-based infant care in Delaware is $14,995 or $1,250 per month, and $10,146 for home-based infant care or $846 per month. To put these figures into perspective, the annual in-state undergraduate tuition for Delaware State University is currently $8,358! We’re currently enhancing the state eligibility system to include a child care waitlist function.

Carol: The pandemic shined a light on the huge need for affordable child care, but that need was huge before and it still is. We estimate that Mississippi is currently only serving about 30 percent of the children in families who qualify for child care assistance. This means a huge increase in public funding is needed to serve more eligible families. Our state doesn’t invest in CCDF (beyond the required state match) or Head Start, and we don’t have a statewide pre-K program. So, we push for increased investment in CCDF, such as using federal TANF welfare funds, and workforce funds, that can be used to expand services to serve more eligible families.

Charis: Child care access is a significant obstacle to Ohio women participating in the workforce. A lot of parents and mothers can’t stay in the workforce because there is no child care for them. For single-income families, the lack of affordable care can make a parent stay home and need government assistance, when affordable child care would help them stay in the workforce. There are families I know that barter, staying at work longer so their employer takes a little off their child care costs, in order to pay their bills. And it’s not fair that you have to stay away from your family longer to try to afford care.

Kristi: In New Orleans, child care access remains a critical challenge, particularly for low-income families. Programs like Early Head Start, Louisiana’s Child Care Assistance Program, and City Seats aim to expand access, but limited funding and a shortage of high-quality centers create barriers. Initiatives like the Early Childhood Education Fund provide critical support, yet the demand far exceeds available resources. Providers also face staffing shortages and low wages, impacting their ability to meet community needs. Expanding investments in subsidized seats, increasing teacher pay, and supporting infrastructure improvements are essential to ensuring all families can access affordable, quality child care.

Question for Belvie: As an administrator, what do you think needs to happen to create sustainable change within child care?

To witness a sustainable change in the child care sector it will take more than funding! We need to shift the paradigm and the way we think about child care. The initial way to do so is to change the language we use. Instead of using the term “child care,” we need to refer to the industry in broader terms such as the use of the term “early care and education.” My belief is that once the paradigm shift takes place, early care and education professionals will become a part of the country’s K-12 system and will receive the same salaries and benefits that [those educators] receive. Unless and until we make this complete paradigm shift and begin to think about early care and education in this broader way rather than simply “child care,” the system will remain a broken one.

Question for Carol: What is one accomplishment you are most proud of in your work over the last few years that improved child care in Mississippi?

That is an easy question – there is absolutely no contest for the answer! Last year we succeeded in removing a child support requirement from our state’s child care assistance program. We worked 19 years for this. The state imposed a requirement that was not federally required, that single parents had to cooperate with child support enforcement in order to qualify for child care assistance. This policy deterred the parents who needed child care assistance most. Since this change went into effect, the state has reported that over 17,000 children have gotten child care assistance who wouldn’t have qualified to receive assistance before this change.

Question for Charis: What do you, as a parent and advocate, think is most needed to get to transformative change that meets the needs of children and families?

Transparency. If parents have an ask, and policymakers can’t meet that ask, that needs to be said. Focus groups help give parents a voice and a seat at the table so there is no question what parents need and what we’re asking for. That way policymakers can see the information and the statistics about parents’ needs and move forward from there knowing what we want. Parents not having a seat at the table doesn’t just impact if we can afford child care, but it concerns the education and quality of care our children get. Transparency affects it all.

Question for Kristi: At CLASP, we know that the best policies and programs are crafted with the people who are most likely to be impacted by them. From your perspective, how can providers and parents be better centered in the policy-making process?

Providers and parents must have a seat at the table during policy discussions to ensure their lived experiences shape decisions. Establishing advisory councils that include diverse stakeholders, conducting focus groups, and holding community listening sessions are crucial steps. Policies should be informed by real-world challenges, such as workforce shortages and affordability. Simplifying feedback mechanisms and compensating participants for their time shows respect for their contributions. Transparent communication and accountability from policymakers are essential to build trust. When parents and providers are empowered as co-creators, policies are more likely to address the actual needs of families and the child care workforce.

To learn more, the full webinar is available to view here.