Washington Post | Elliot Haspel
“Imagine a world where child care is a luxury good. Only the most affluent families can afford the service, shelling out $30,000 or more per child each year. Women’s labor force participation rates — already at their lowest ebb since 1988 thanks to the pandemic — crater further, with less than half employed. The economy stagnates with so many would-be workers off the market. Meanwhile, reports begin to emerge: High numbers of children are suffering abuse and neglect in illegal, unsafe, cut-rate day cares.”
Elliot Haspel, program officer for education policy and research at the Robins Foundation and author of Crawling Behind: America’s Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It, says that it’s up to Congress to find ways to better invest in the early care and learning sector.
