Empower Lower-Income Parents to Access Quality ECE


What’s at Stake

Two-thirds of mothers with young children now work. For many lower-income parents this creates an impossible choice: put their child in a substandard program that underminies their child’s development or give up a steady job. Both options damage families and state economies.

When parents can’t find ECE programs they trust, they miss work, lose income, and risk turning to welfare. Absenteeism and turnover cost businesses millions every year. And without market-based solutions, pressure grows for centralized government programs that reduce ECE options and limit parental choice.

Why This Matters for Children & Families

Lower-income parents want what every parent wants: to support their family and give their children a strong start. They shouldn’t have to sacrifice one for the other.

Parents know that where young children spend 40+ hours a week shapes their development. In their crucial early years, children learn through everyday interactions: daily conversation, exploration, and play. Parents need programs that provide these experiences — not just supervision — where they see their child safe, engaged, and thriving.

When parents can access programs they trust and that reflect their values, they can stay employed and financially self-sufficient — while making sure their child gets a strong start in life.

Why This Matters to Your State

Expanding access to quality ECE isn’t just good for families — it strengthens your state’s economy. When parents have access to quality ECE programs, states get clear returns:

  • More parents enter and stay in the workforce

  • Welfare dependency drops

  • Tax revenues rise

  • Children begin kindergarten better prepared to succeed

The math is straightforward. Steady parental employment increases tax receipts and lowers welfare spending. Kindergarten readiness reduces costly remediation, special education, and grade repetition. Access to quality ECE programs also enables parents to complete the workforce training your state has invested in.

Ripple effects strengthen the entire economy. Businesses grow where reliable workers are available — and reliable workers need quality ECE.

The Vision

Quality ECE delivers two gains for lower-income families: children get a better start while parents support their families through steady work. Together, these outcomes create a stronger workforce, a stronger economy, and a stronger state.

Parents — not agencies — choose programs. Quality rises when programs compete for families with real purchasing power. Market competition, not compliance checklists, drives continuous improvement.

The result: fewer children in poverty as parents increase work; more families reaching self-sufficiency; children entering kindergarten ready to learn; and states growing stronger through independent, working families.

How States Can Lead

States don’t need new bureaucracies to do this. They just need to make markets work better for parents. They can do this through four main strategies:

The Bottom Line

Market economics works: Give parents purchasing power ⟶ Quality options emerge ⟶ Families choose wisely.

Children thrive, parents work, families achieve financial self-sufficiency, and states prosper — without expanding bureacracy or government control.

Go to first strategy for this goal Give parents more purchasing power