Parents in Western North Carolina are struggling because child care spots keep disappearing. Since early 2023, many daycares have closed down due to low pay for workers and tight budgets. This leaves working families with fewer options, forcing some to quit their jobs or cut back on hours just to ma
In Massachusetts, about 1, 300 spots for young children in Head Start programs have vanished over the past three years because federal money has stopped growing while program costs keep climbing. Nationwide, enrollment fell from roughly 1. 1 million kids in 2013 to around 785, 000 in 2022. The stat
Michigan is facing a big problem—there aren’t enough people working in childcare. Research shows that in most ZIP codes, there are way more young kids than spots in daycares or preschools. That makes it hard for parents to find care and for kids to get a strong start before kindergarten. A new prog
In child care, teachers often decide when a child should eat, even if the child is already full or hungry. This study looked at whether coaching could help teachers better notice and respond to kids’ real hunger cues. The program, called CELEBRATE Feeding, ran for six months in eight centers locat
The state’s plan to end extra child‑care payments for foster families on Jan. 1, 2026 has sparked a fierce response from those who care for children in crisis. When the pandemic hit, Alaska covered every dollar of foster child‑care costs. Now it will pay only a small state rate that falls far below
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has unveiled a $260 billion budget plan. It's a big deal because it doesn't raise any new taxes. Instead, it puts more money into child care and schools. The state is doing this because Wall Street is making a lot of money right now. The plan includes $1. 2 billion mo
Colorado is grappling with a serious child care crisis. The cost of child care is a huge burden for many families. For a single parent, child care can take up nearly half of their income. This is way above the federal affordability benchmark of 7%. The state also has a shortage of spots in licensed
A judge recently put a temporary stop to the Trump administration's attempt to freeze federal funds for child care and other support programs in five states. California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York had argued that this sudden move was causing confusion and disruption. The administrat
Anchorage is thinking about using local money to support child care. Some people say this is a bad idea because of a fraud scandal in Minnesota. But is this a fair comparison? Minnesota's problem was with federal money. The money went through many hands before reaching the day cares. When fraud was
Minnesota's political scene is in a stir. Governor Tim Walz decided not to run again. He wants to focus on stopping fraud in state programs. This comes after a video by a conservative influencer, Nick Shirley, went viral. The video claimed that some day care centers in Minneapolis were cheating the
