Summary
While governmental funds have been invested into child care services, there are still gaps in the quality of assistance for families of color. Moving forward, policymakers and social justice advocates must respect and support the cultural nuances that affect the quality of child care.
“…bias [preferencing] centers and the lack of research about family child-care settings means that family child-care providers are frequently undervalued in the quality debate.”
“Quality standards must consider the strengths and nuances of providers operating out of home settings…”
Takeaways
- Early childhood education and care are critical services because they support the healthy development of children and support parents’ ability to work and provide for their families. Although these services were designed to address the needs of mothers from low-income backgrounds, Black mothers were frequently denied benefits on the grounds that they were accustomed to working and should not be encouraged to stay at home.
- Home-based providers are a significant source of child care for families of color. Policies and systems can support children of color by sustaining their home-based child care providers. Similarly, to better serve families of color, social policy advocates can push for more community engagement in the development of quality standards.