Give Parents More Purchasing Power

The Challenge

Parents have two basic responsibilities: provide for their families and raise their children well. But for many lower-income families, the economics don’t add up.

When quality early care and education (ECE) programs are financially out of reach, parents face hard trade-offs: settle for programs they don’t trust, cut back work hours their families depend on, or leave the workforce entirely.

While higher-income parents can choose among multiple quality options for their children, lower-income families are shut out by cost. This keeps parents out of the workforce, weakens family stability, and fuels pressure for one-size-fits-all government programs.

The Strategy for States

Make the ECE market work for all families by empowering lower-income parents to access quality programs that support their children’s development while they contribute to the economy.

States can expand purchasing power by:

  • Increasing subsidy amounts so parents can access truly high-quality programs

  • Expanding eligibility to include families who earn too much for current assistance but too little to pay market rates

 The goal: Enable families shut out of the market to become empowered consumers who drive quality through their choices.

Why This Works

Giving parents real purchasing power doesn’t just help individual families — it strengthens the entire ECE market. When more parents can pay, programs compete for their business, expanding supply and improving quality.

Families stay employed and self-sufficient, children get the strong start they need, and public dollars go farther without creating costly new programs:

  • Parents work and provide for their families without relying on government

  • Programs improve to attract paying customers, not just to meet compliance checklists

  • Markets become more competitive and responsive, driven by parent demand

  • Parents — not government — make decisions about their own children

This proven approach turns families without affordable options into empowered consumers who strengthen the market. It’s worked in other sectors, including school choice.

The result: more self-sufficient families, businesses with the reliable employees they need, and good outcomes for children — all through strategies that build on, rather than replace, the private market.

Next strategy for this goal —> Ensure Parents Have Real Options