For many American families, finding affordable child care has become a significant challenge. The costs can rival mortgage payments and in-state tuition, which is forcing parents to delay having children or resort to unreliable care arrangements due to the lack of affordable options that fit their needs.
Regrettably, Washington’s response has been consistent but ineffective—more oversight, increased bureaucracy, and demands for larger taxpayer subsidies to counteract the shortcomings of existing policies.
The outcomes are evident. Costs keep climbing, the number of available child care slots continues to shrink, and waiting lists grow longer. Small providers often struggle under layers of governmental red tape at both state and federal levels.
American families need a fresh approach.
The Agency for Children and Families (ACF) advocates for policies that empower families instead of constraining their choices. Parents ought to have the freedom to select the child care that best suits their child, rather than being limited to options suggested by the government.
This support should encompass various choices, from child care centers and home health care providers to faith-based programs and family care. The diversity of America means that flexibility is crucial; what’s suitable for a family in rural Idaho may not apply to one in Philadelphia.
That’s why ACF is promoting reforms aimed at giving states more flexibility to enhance affordability, broaden access, and maximize the effectiveness of existing federal child care funding for a greater number of families. We’re aiming to return autonomy to states, allowing them to prioritize vouchers that enable parents to choose providers that fit their needs over stringent contract models.
This also empowers states to create cost-sharing systems and workforce policies that consider local economic conditions, rather than forcing a generic federal approach on every community in the nation.
Moreover, we emphasize that faith-based organizations, local programs, family-run businesses, and even grandparents can play vital roles in child care. Unfortunately, many of these caregivers have faced unnecessary obstacles to participating in federally supported programs. They deserve fair treatment without being sidelined by ideological or regulatory biases from either Washington or state governments.
However, the choices states make will be crucial as we give them more flexibility.
Many states impose rising compliance costs and excessive regulatory hurdles on providers. The results are predictable: fewer child care providers and options for families, which leads to even higher costs.
This doesn’t mean we are abandoning certain standards or accountability—health and safety measures, along with fraud prevention, are essential. Yet, there’s a significant difference between reasonable safety protocols and inflexible federal mandates that can undermine local realities, reduce availability, and escalate expenses.
The current regulatory landscape is untenable. For example, childcare workers often cite absurdity in regulations, like being unable to peel a banana for a child due to meal prep rules. Situations like this reflect why so many providers see excessive regulations as a major reason to close their doors.
Concurrently, some states have relaxed supervision practices, making it easier for fraud to occur and harder to spot. Every dollar lost to fraud removes funds that families desperately need for child care assistance. It’s vital for state policies to ensure that federal subsidies are used wisely and effectively. Families have been drained by escalating expenses, diminishing options, and the constant oversight of the federal government.
Our strategy is practical and sustainable. The federal government should create comprehensive safeguards that protect taxpayer money and guard against fraud while allowing parents to make decisions that serve their family’s needs best. If states effectively implement these reforms, existing federal resources could support hundreds of thousands more families.
Additionally, pairing these efforts with broader pro-family policies—like an expanded child tax credit and better incentives for employer-sponsored child care—offers a path to reversing the affordability crisis that so many working parents face.
That’s essentially the family agenda moving forward.
