Beyond seeing history repeat itself time and time again, people advocating for the quality and affordability of childcare has been occurring since the early 1900's.
Instead of childcare, the idea of mother pensions came about so that women could stay at home with their children. It quickly gained popular support because it did nothing to challenge traditional gender roles. By the 1930's, every state in the union passed some level of a mother pension law, but by doing this, childcare was pushed further into the shadows. However, most mothers found themselves ineligible for pensions and had no choice but to find work and some form of care for their children.
The Children's Bureau worked to strengthen mothers' pensions instead of shifting the focus to childcare. At the urging of prominent early childhood educators, programs were established called emergency nursery schools (ENS) because more women were being recruited to do defense-work due to WWII. Nonetheless, several thousands of these schools closed down because teachers left for better paying jobs. As ENS's closed, women had no choice but to leave their children alone at home or allow them to sleep in cars while they worked night shifts. The media capitalized on these situations and reported "selfish-wage earning mothers" and "children in group care may suffer the effects of maternal deprivation."
By 1946, the Maternal and Child Welfare Act was proposed and not passed. It would have allowed the continuing of federal funding for daycares. Instead, the government allotted a Child Tax Deduction. No government administration has been able to push through a universal childcare policy.
In the 1980's, for-profit childcares began to emerge as more women began to re-enter the workforce, however there were issues with quality and affordability. This is the underlying theme to this day.
So, what does good childcare reform look like?
Employing teachers who have knowledge in early childhood education and seeing education and care as a necessary combination is essential. Care providers are early educators.
Even if policies are passed on a federal level, each state can take that legislation and alter it accordingly, which excludes specific socioeconomic classes and limits the ability for it to truly be universal. It also perpetuates the achievement gaps between people from high and low income families.
Ashley and Kimberly have an extensive discussion on where we go from here, including an overview of the American Families Plan proposed by the Biden administration. They review the facts from a bipartisan perspective with bipartisan resources.
Resources:
- The History of Child Care in the U.S. by Sonya Michel, Ph.D.
- What does good child care reform look like? By Elise Gould, Lea J.E. Austin, and Marcy Whitebook
- Childcare Aware
- Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan
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