National Trends

States across the country are implementing creative policies and business solutions to address the child care crisis. Here are just a few examples of the solutions states are enacting to support children, families, early educators, and businesses within their communities:

Solutions to help fund child care systems:

New Mexico designed a permanent fund to support early childhood initiatives within the state.
The rest of the US can learn a lot from how New Mexico is tackling the childcare crisis
and Early Childhood Education and Care Fund – New Mexico State Investment Council

Louisiana created a special state treasury fund to support early childhood education.
Louisiana Case Study

King County, Washington, voters approved Best Starts for Kids, an initiative to improve health and well-being by investing in prevention and early intervention for children and their families. The levy will generate about $65 million per year and cost the average King County property owner an estimated $56 per year, which is about a dollar a week.
Best Starts for Kids

Solutions to support child care providers and early educators:

Washington DC now provides free or reduced insurance premiums for employees (and their family members) of licensed child care centers.
https://dchealthlink.com/healthcare4childcare-archive

Kentucky is piloting a program that allows early educators to qualify for child care assistance for their own children, regardless of their income level. https://www.chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dcbs/dcc/Documents/childcareemployeeexclusionflyer.pdf

Solutions to support mixed-delivery systems:

Georgia’s mixed-delivery model allows for state-funded Pre-K to be provided at public schools, private child-care centers, faith-based organizations, Head Start agencies, state colleges and universities, and military facilities. http://www.decal.ga.gov/Prek/Default.aspx

West Virginia uses a community/county-level collaboration model to ensure mixed-delivery of publicly funded Pre-K within communities.
https://wvde.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/WV-Universal-PreK-2019-Overview-final.pdf

Solutions to engage the business community:

Michigan’s new Tri-Share Child Care Program divides the cost of child care between the state, the employer and the employee.
Tri-Share Child Care Network

Kentucky’s new Child Care Assistance Partnership encourages employers to provide child care assistance to employees through the use of state matching funds.
Child Care Resources for the Kentucky Business Community.indd (kychamber.com)

In Utah, Goldman Sachs partnered with Granite School District, United Way, and Salt Lake County to provide high-quality preschool to hundreds of children. Out of the 700-child cohort, 110 tested as likely to need special education in kindergarten and first grade. However, after attending preschool for one year, only one of those students needed special education services, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars for the state.
Preschool paying off for Goldman Sachs and Utah kids, according to United Way (The Salt Lake Tribune