The Investing in America Child Care Partnership has released findings and recommendations from its first phase, drawing on work in six communities to show how local governments, employers, philanthropy, and child care providers can work together to expand child care supply and support economic growth. The report offers lessons and policy recommendations for communities across the country seeking to make affordable, high-quality child care part of their economic development strategies.
In June 2024, several national foundations, including The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and nonprofit partners launched the Investing in America Child Care Partnership, an initiative to leverage public infrastructure and economic development funding alongside employer partnerships to strengthen and sustain early childhood systems in local communities. This partnership was formed as a coordinated effort to leverage federal infrastructure funding to strengthen local early care and education systems and increase access to high-quality, affordable childcare in communities that house America’s growing infrastructure workforce.
Building Child Care Supply Across Six Communities
Since then, the partnership has invested in a coalition of national and local nonprofit organizations working to bring together local government, employers, childcare providers, families, and other local partners to a cohort of six communities across the United States to develop place-based, public-private partnerships to design innovative solutions to grow childcare supply. These communities – Wayne County, Michigan; Pima County, Arizona; Columbus-Muscogee City-County, Georgia; Multnomah County, Oregon; Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a statewide effort in New Hampshire – represent a diverse cross-section of American communities from different political, socioeconomic, and urban contexts.
"This partnership proves that we don't have to choose between growing our economy and supporting families — we have a collective interest in ensuring that the workers driving this new era of economic productivity can thrive."
These communities were convened through the Childcare Supply Network, an initiative of the National Association of Counties and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) partners IFF, Low Income Investment Fund and LISC. Participating communities also received support from the National League of Cities and various employer engagement partners, including Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), the SEMI Foundation and Policy Equity Group, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Advocacy and research partners also provided support, including The Century Foundation, Bipartisan Policy Center, and Child Care for Every Family Network.
Together, this cohort of communities demonstrated innovative, cross-sector solutions to sustainably build child care supply in ways that most effectively meet the needs of a diverse and growing workforce. These solutions include:
- Incentivizing employers to fund child care as a workforce benefit through matching public or philanthropic funding;
- Braiding public and private funding to expand early education facilities;
- Revenue generation strategies to support the long-term sustainability of early care and education providers; and
- Strategies to incentivize second- and third-shift care for manufacturing and construction workers.
These models demonstrate the power of place-based partnerships that center the needs of working families, account for the local political and regulatory context, and support the long-term sustainability of childcare providers. They go beyond generic, one-size-fits-all plans and propose tailored solutions to strengthen the systems supporting the children and families in their local communities. Collectively, they provide a critical blueprint for communities across the United States seeking to bring local government, employers, and childcare providers together to reimagine solutions that best support working families.
Sustaining Affordable Child Care Nationwide
The report identifies several opportunities to build on and sustain these approaches in communities across the country, including ways to:
- Broaden support for child care investments among elected and business leaders, including strategies to build bipartisan coalitions, center local government leadership, and build on existing infrastructure by braiding innovative sources of funding.
- Leverage federal tax code changes, including the expansion of the employer-sponsored childcare tax credit, tax credits for paid leave, and Opportunity Zones.
- Create sustainability beyond federal initiatives, building on lessons from the transition away from childcare incentives built into the implementation of the CHIPS & Science Act.
