Universal Child Care Isn’t Just an Idea

Dear Parents, Providers, and Advocates,

Budget season may be behind us, but the work to build a stronger child care system is far from over.

This year brought real progress. The expansion of Pre-K and the launch of new child care pilot initiatives show that our leaders are beginning to recognize what families and early educators have known all along: Child care isn’t a luxury — it’s essential infrastructure that lets children thrive, parents work, and communities grow.

These investments deserve recognition. They’re movement in the right direction. But they’re also only the beginning.

Now that the budget has been adopted, we have a chance to ask a different question: What’s next? What kind of child care system do we want to build — not just for today, but for the next generation?

Picture a future where every family can find affordable, high-quality care close to home. Where no parent sits on a waiting list because there aren’t enough seats. Where every child, regardless of neighborhood or income, has the same shot to learn, grow, and succeed.

Picture Family Child Care educators — in residential settings, child care centers, and every early childhood program — recognized as equal partners in education, earning wages that reflect the value of their work, backed by funding that’s stable, equitable, and based on the true cost of quality care. Picture a system that works with families instead of around them: One that supports infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children with flexible, year-round options that fit the realities of working life.

That’s the future worth fighting for.

As we begin planning next year’s legislative and budget priorities, the hard questions remain:

• What barriers still keep families from accessing care?

• How do we eliminate waiting lists?

• How do we make sure funding reaches every child care setting fairly?

• How do we build a workforce that can stay in the profession because it’s respected, supported, and sustainably funded?

• Most importantly — how do we move from isolated programs to a truly universal system?

No single organization or elected official has the answers alone. They’ll come from providers, parents, advocates, community leaders, and policymakers working from a shared vision — and real change happens when people stay engaged after the headlines fade and the budget votes are cast.

So let’s keep imagining. Let’s keep organizing. Let’s keep speaking up. Let’s keep building a child care system that values every child, every family, and every educator.

Universal child care isn’t just an idea — it’s a vision we can achieve, one policy, one investment, and one united voice at a time.

In solidarity,

Gladys Jones

Founder and CEO, ECE on the Move