Childcare & Early Education

Raising the Minimum Wage and Affordable Child Care Go Hand in Hand

This post, authored by Traci Donnelly, originally appeared on TalkPoverty.org . A minimum wage increase will not help families exit poverty by itself – we need other work supports that ease the economic strain on families. TalkPoverty.org is dedicated to demonstrating that we know how to...

Child Care Centers and the Quality Improvement Catch-22

Quality improvements are indeed important—important enough to warrant the additional investment required. But we cannot keep pretending that these improvements can be paid for out of the current pool of meager resources. If we do, then even fewer children will be served. Child care centers serving low-income families will either opt-out if the quality improvements are voluntary, or be priced-out of existence if they are mandatory. Either of these outcomes will exacerbate the struggles of the working poor.

Making Women's Public Leadership Visible to the Next Generation

I have three young daughters, and like any parent, I am anxious for them to grow up believing they can be anything they want to be – I want them to dream big, as they say. But too often I am reminded that the world hasn’t quite caught up to my expectations. Last year, my oldest daughter learned...