Thread by @ChrisMHerbst

1/17 @SenWarren released a thoughtful & ambitious proposal to create a system of universal early care & education in the U.S.

warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…

Below I discuss the proposal itself as well as the big picture context motivating it.

#UniversalChildCare

2/17 The proposal (Universal Child Care Act) draws inspiration from the 1971 Comprehensive Child Development Act as well as the contemporary Head Start & U.S. DoD child care programs. It creates a network of federally-funded—but locally-administered—center- & home-based programs

3/17 As such, it is a serious attempt to deal with two long-standing problems in the child care market: the high cost of care experienced by many families and the low quality of services offered by far too many providers.

Evidence on the existence of both problems is abundant:

4/17 The U.S. spends just 0.6% of GDP on family benefits broadly defined (OECD ave: 2%) & 0.3% on child care specifically (ave: 0.7%). Thus families must pay out of pocket, which can be expensive: my research shows that low-income families spend >17% of income on child care.

5/17 Meager gov't support has at least 3 implications:
1. families shift into lower-quality care b/c it costs less
2. lower maternal employment rates: at 65.7%, the U.S. is #23 in the OECD
3. less growth: e.g., Quebec's GDP grew 1.7% in 2008 alone from its univ child care program

6/17 On quality, the evidence is dire:
1. 42% of child care settings are “poor” or “fair” & just 12% of kids receive "positive caregiving"
2. More concerning: just 16% of kids in bottom SES quintile attend programs rated =>“good”
3. 98% of Georgia's pre-k rooms are rated < “good”

7/17 More on low quality: from 1992-2014 the share of center-based child care employees w/ a BA grew from 21%-25%

Females in all other industries: 22%- 37%

Thus women today w/ a BA are less likely to choose child care employment than their counterparts in the early-1990s

8/17 Still skeptical on quality? Read @CitizenCohn's excellent The Hell of American Day Care: newrepublic.com/article/112892…. His reporting adds a lot of important texture to the numbers cited above.

9/17 And so it is within this context that Sen. Warren releases her plan. It aims to achieve 2 things:
1. cost reduction: bolster parental employment
2. quality improvement: help child development
Key point: current early ed policies, by & large, have not achieved *both* goals.

10/17 E.g.: Child Care & Development Fund has been effective at increasing mothers' employment, but it hasn't been great for child development. Head Start can be very good for kids, but it isn't structured to assist parents with employment.

Warren's plan bridges the disconnect.

11/17 Specifically, the proposal has 3 pillars:

1. Federal-local partnerships to create a "public option" for child care. Partners (states, school districts, non-profits, etc. ) will support networks of center- & home-based providers. Federally-funded but locally-implemented.

12/17 2. A laser-like focus on quality. This is achieved by setting high program standards—similar to the U.S. DoD program, which requires @NAEYC accreditation for its centers—delivering health & social services, & paying teachers on the public K-12 wage scale.

13/17 3. Serious consumer subsidies. Child care is deemed "affordable" when families spend no more than 10% of income on it. Warren's plan: no family will spend >7%. In fact, families <200% of poverty get a 100% subsidy. After that, they pay on a sliding scale up to 7% of income.

14/17 As a proposal, Warren’s plan represents the standard for all child care proposals henceforth. As legislation, it would be a major breakthrough for American families.

I'll end w/ some questions to consider:
1. How are church-based programs—of which there are many—treated?

15/17 2. What happens to the multitude of other programs (Child Care & Development Fund, Child Care Tax Credit, Child & Adult Care Food Program, etc)?

3. How will the quality standards be defined? QRIS? NAEYC? ERS's? Teacher qualifications? And will states' regulations matter?

16/17
4. Costs won't exceed 7% of income. How will prices at the public option providers be established?

5. How will families find these providers? Will good info be available?

6. Will care be available full-day and -year?

7. Can providers opt into the public system?

17/17 These questions are only the tip of the iceberg. Others should and will be asked. Let the debate begin!

P.S. I'm happy to provide references for the many numbers cited throughout these tweets.

END

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