“America, It’s Time to Talk About Child Care.”

That’s the title of a new report that declares what a lot of parents already know: America has a child care problem.

“…the federal government does not treat early childhood education as a public good nor does it provide adequate funding to support it,” the report says. “This chronic underfunding has led to a shortage of affordable, quality child care across the nation. And to the extent that child care is affordable for families, it is largely because early educators earn very low wages, and many must struggle to feed their own families.”

Eight organizations released the report jointly. They are: the Center for American Progress, the American Federation of Teachers, the Center for Law and Social Policy, Community Change, Every Child Matters, MomsRising, the National Women’s Law Center, and the Service Employees International Union.

This shortage of affordable, high-quality child care makes it tough for parents to go to work, which slows down the economy.

“Right now, the U.S. economy loses an astounding $57 billion per year in revenue, wages, and productivity as a result of child care problems,” the report warns.

Young children also lose because they aren’t getting the stimulation they need to keep their rapidly growing brains engaged.

The alternative?

“Every parent needs safe enriching places for their children, every child needs quality early education to thrive, and every child care worker deserves a living wage. We need to reform our child care system now,” Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, the executive director and CEO of MomsRising says in a press release.

The solution?

America could make a large-scale investment in its child care infrastructure – especially since investing in child care has widespread bipartisan support.

“The United States can and should build a child care system that provides affordable options for families with children from birth through school age,” the report says.

This system would:

• offer a range of child care options to meet families’ differing needs

• be culturally and linguistically responsive

• include choices for children with disabilities

• accommodate parents’ work, school, or training schedules, and

• charge fees on a sliding scale based on parents’ abilities to pay

Creating such a system is vital because:

“Child care is early learning, meaning that high-quality child care supports children’s healthy development and teaches fundamental skills that set children up for success in school and beyond. High-quality child care programs have a positive impact on very young children’s health and development, in particular low-income and other vulnerable young children, and a growing body of research reveals both short- and long-term improvements in health outcome as the result of participation in early childhood education.”

The really good news?

The United States already has a great example of success: the child care program set up by the Department of Defense.

“Today, educators on military bases are paid on a wage scale that averages $15 per hour, which is about $4 more than the national average hourly wage for those in civilian settings. Military parents still pay no more than 10 percent of their income on child care, with federal funding subsidizing remaining operating costs. Reform efforts—and long-term funding— in military child care demonstrate how a concerted effort to improve child care and federal investment can boost quality, increase pay, provide more options to families, and lower costs.”

Here in Massachusetts, a new coalition has formed to address the child care shortage by advocating advocate for universal access to affordable, high-quality care. Strategies for Children serves on the coalition, which is led by the Coalition for Social Justice. In January, the larger coalition’s advocates worked with legislators to file An Act Relative to Affordable and Accessible High Quality Early Education and Care (H.470, S.288). And in July, advocates testified about the bill at a State House hearing. Please read the bill fact sheet and the sign-on letter to the Legislature.

As the entire country moves forward, the report advises, it should craft child care proposals and policies that:

• “Lower child care costs for low- and moderate-income families to no more than 7 percent of income through a sliding scale that provides the most assistance for families living paycheck to paycheck”

• Provide flexibility to accommodate complex work schedules by increasing availability of care for parents with nontraditional hours and volatile schedules

• “Increase options for families by building supply and addressing child care deserts, especially for families who have been historically underserved”

• “Improve compensation, working conditions, and professional development opportunities for early educators”

• “Affirm the right of early educators to join a union,” and

• “Provide a platform for input from early educators and families directly affected by child care policy”

As the report concludes:

“It’s time for elected officials and those seeking office to lead a national conversation with policy ideas that capitalize on the opportunity to invest in children from birth. Such an investment will improve the well-being of children and families by reducing stress for families, helping children access high-quality early learning experiences that prepare them for school, and improving job quality for millions of workers. American families will lose out, and the economy will suffer, the longer policymakers wait to act.”