Thank you for your contact with us regarding the article you are writing. Please note that we are a bipartisan non-profit organization that does not take one political side over another. I have attached for your reference a copy of our Mission and Vision Statement. I am also prepared to say that the licensed private child care providers, many with 50+ years of experience, would very much appreciate a voice at any political table that is truly committed to working towards a solution to make high quality child care and early education more affordable, available, and equitable to all families.
Pre-Covid-19 our country had approximately 129,000 licensed child care centers with over 90% of them being women led small businesses. There were another 115,000 licensed or registered family child care homes nation wide. Unfortunately the majority of young children in the United States are not in any kind of licensed or regulated child care or early learning environment. Historically we only see this issue being discussed during a campaign year. Additionally neither political party has ever put any significant effort or dollars towards children’s needs as a whole when it comes to the annual budget. In other words there is a lot of talk but no one really walks the talk.
Those of us that have worked in child care and ran businesses have survived in spite of it all. That is until COViD-19 which has revealed the fragility of our nation’s child care infrastructure. In order to fix what is broken and desperately needed for the families needing child care there has to be a desire by our leaders to listen and learn from successful practitioners in this industry. While money is desperately needed as a part of this equation it is also about having a good process in place and the resources to execute it. We at the NCCA are ready and available to be a part of this solution.
Thank you,
Cindy Lehnhoff
Director of the National Child Care Association (NCCA)
Policy Advisor for the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA)