Child Care Is Buckling

At an Easter luncheon at the White House earlier this month, Donald Trump said to his guests that it is “not possible” for the federal government to “take care of day care” (or Medicaid, or Medicare), because “we’re fighting wars,” “we’re a big country,” and “we have all these other people.” Instead, he contended, such funding should be handled by the states. In response, some Democrats pointed out that the billions of dollars the administration is spending on its war in Iran could go toward helping many people indeed, including the millions who might benefit from investments in, say, free nationwide preschool.The White House later said that Trump’s remarks were taken out of context. But they were consistent with his well-articulated spending priorities—which have left many families scrambling to find affordable care.Child care is a vital piece of infrastructure. For one, child-care programs support the military’s ability to fight wars, given that roughly a third of active-duty service members are parents. More broadly, child care influences parents’ ability to participate in the labor market, which can have far-reaching economic consequences, as well as unmistakable social effects. Parents who can’t find caregiving help have less time to tend to their own needs and health, and risk becoming isolated from other adults. And of course, individuals who don’t themselves have young children rely on doctors, firefighters, police officers, farmers, grocery-store workers, and teachers who do. When the system falters, Americans with and without kids pay a price.The clearest symptom of a failing child-care system is widespread program closures. In Indiana, more than 300 programs have shut down since last September, representing more than 10,300 slots for children. In Oklahoma, more than 400 day cares have closed since November. North Carolina has seen hundreds of closures as well, with a net loss of approximately 45 programs in the fourth quarter of last year alone.The losses