蜜桃影视

Sometimes what seems like idealism at first can actually be canny realism. Case in point: Elliot Haspel鈥檚 recent book , proposes a big idea鈥攇iving families $15,000 a year to use for whichever child care they choose. Nobody I spoke to, including the author, believes the federal or any other government is going to start cutting these checks anytime soon, but putting it out there is one of the ways the national conversation changes.

鈥淨uality and affordability are two sides of the same coin,鈥� says Haspel. The key word here is coin. As in, this stuff costs money, and currently, 鈥淭here鈥檚 not enough money in the system.鈥� Without proper funding, all the things we count on to come from child care鈥攚hether it鈥檚 about building young minds or simply enabling parents to work without worry鈥攁re out of reach.

Quality, for Haspel, simply means enabling a child to develop in a healthy way. The relationship between caregiver and child matters, and quality of care matters more than setting. 鈥淩egardless of what parents prioritize,鈥� he says, 鈥渨e want to honor those preferences while making sure all child care settings have strong caregiver-child relationships and knowledgeable caregivers.鈥�

Troublingly, some of the families Haspel spoke to reported sacrificing quality in order to make ends meet. He cites a family in Denver who pulled a toddler out of a highly rated child care center so they could afford care for their second child.

We know what affordability means. Paying for child care has never not been a problem, but the economics have gotten even more precarious in recent years. estimates that the national average child care cost is roughly $9,000 per child, per year. ()

Some highs and lows of the child care debate in the past several decades:

• 1940: With the Lanham Act, Congress establishes a national child care program for families involved in the war effort. It is disbanded after World War II when returning male soldiers expect women to resume their motherly duties. (Read about )
• 1971: Richard Nixon vetoes the Comprehensive Child Development Act, which would have created a national network of federally funded child care centers. (Read about .)
• 1976: are established to help working families with work-related child care expenses.
• 1990: The Child Care and Development Fund arises, providing state, territory, and tribal governments with funding to support paying for child care. ()
• 2017: Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Bobby Scott introduce the . Like Haspel鈥檚 book, the legislation is geared more toward advancing the dialogue and establishing a new child care vision.
• June 2019: Elizabeth Warren, senator and presidential candidate, and Rep. Deb Haaland introduce their Universal Care and Early Learning Act.
• December 2019: The Trump Administration releases its , 鈥渄esigned to improve access to affordable, high-quality child care and support working families by taking steps to increase investment, build the supply of child care, cultivate the child care workforce, and improve options for families across a range of high-quality settings.鈥�

Haspel鈥檚 contribution to the discourse involves direct cash assistance, paid for by tax increases on individuals or corporations. The difference between this and other plans that involve raising taxes is what he calls instant R.O.I.; it pays for itself almost immediately by getting moms into the workforce. .

I asked a few experts about Haspel鈥檚 plan. Here鈥檚 what I heard:

• Jacqueline Jones, The Foundation for Child Development: 鈥淭his is a multifaceted problem that requires multiple solutions鈥攃oordination of federal funds, parental leave, tax credits and vouchers. Above all, we need to build public will. This isn鈥檛 just a nice thing to do. It truly matters for our future workforce and citizenry.鈥�
• Julie Kashen, The Century Foundation: 鈥淓lliot鈥檚 proposal is incredibly helpful, adding a new dimension to the conversation by talking about free child care鈥攖he same way many have been talking about free college. Getting everyone into the same program means there鈥檚 more buy-in. I support approaches that focus on affordability and flexibility for families, improving compensation for teachers, and culturally competent quality of care all at the same time.鈥�
• Sonya Michel, Professor Emerita of history, University of Maryland, College Park. 鈥淢y daughter in Seattle has one child and feels she can鈥檛 afford another, but she wants to continue to work. Many parents decide to stay at home when they can鈥檛 afford child care. Rather than give all parents cash, I think a more effective approach would be to subsidize child care providers, who are usually severely underfunded. Subsidizing child care providers would make it more affordable for all.鈥�
• Simon Workman, Center for American Progress. 鈥淭he $15,000 per child amount that Elliot calls for is much closer to the true cost of high-quality child care鈥攁lthough still below the true cost for infants鈥攁nd is far above what most states pay in child care subsidy at the moment. I am glad to see that Elliot鈥檚 proposal focuses on the full birth-to-five age range, given that learning begins at birth and too many initiatives in the past decade have focused only on the preschool years.鈥�

While Haspel admits to being a policy wonk, he emphasizes that it will take more than wonks to advance change. Parents and educators can speak to their elected leaders. 鈥淭he more this is recognized as a middle-class issue,鈥� the greater the chance of a response. He praises the as a platform for amplifying community voices as well as , an initiative of the David and Laura Merage Foundations

In Crawling Behind鈥檚 final chapter he acknowledges that this model might not work politically and discusses some of the alternatives, including a public system approximating what the U.S. already does for K-12, a voucher system and credit variations depending on different criteria.

He also expressed hope that states or municipalities would take the lead on the issue, seizing the mantle of being the most child-development-friendly place to live. 鈥淎nd I guarantee success,鈥� he says.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.