By Mynti Hossain, Nazihah Siddiqui, and Cleo Jacobs Johnson

(Excerpt)

The COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the importance of universal access to affordable, high quality child care. For many racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, however, that access has been a long-standing issue. A 2017 CLASP report noted the structural racism that creates and perpetuates inequities and the fragmented U.S. child care system for young children ages birth to 5 years, hinder many people in racial and ethnic minority groups from accessing child care. Quality child care is an important part of any work to advance equity because families need it to achieve economic stability and provide their children with culturally competent care and enriching learning opportunities. To meet their needs, many families have to piece a child care plan together by considering public preschool programs, licensed child care centers, licensed home-based care, and informal care.

Read the full article here.