Executive Summary
Child care determines whether parents can work. For state economic development leaders, that makes it economic infrastructure, not a social program, because inadequate access slows growth by shrinking the available labor force.
States are responding with a widening menu of tools. Most lower the price families pay. A few expand the supply of care. The two are not interchangeable, and the binding constraint differs by region. The most important shift is in financing. New models blend employer, family, philanthropic, and private capital with public dollars, rather than relying on appropriations alone. Cost-sharing programs, an expanded federal employer credit, community development finance, and shared-services alliances now let states stretch limited public money much further.