I Watched the State of the Union Address: Everyone is “Winning” Except Child Care

During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, we heard repeatedly that America is “winning.” The message was clear and consistent. But when it came to child care, there was only a single mention, briefly noted during a guest recognition for a woman in the audience who balances work and family responsibilities.

That was it.

The Institute for Child Success reports that the child care crisis costs the United States $172 billion each year. Why is no one listening? When child care appeared only once, in passing, it underscored just how absent it remains from national priorities.

Since January, we have seen ongoing and intentional pressure on the child care sector, including a funding freeze affecting five states. Any delay in child care funding, regardless of length, threatens both the stability of the child care infrastructure and the livelihoods of working families. Without reliable care, families cannot work. Without reliable funding, child care businesses cannot operate.

Research consistently shows that a lack of dependable child care leads to lost wages, stalled careers, and long-term financial consequences for parents. It also contributes to workforce instability and broader economic disruption. At the same time, polls show that voters prioritize the economy above nearly every other issue. It is time to treat child care as the economic issue it is.

The child care sector contributes approximately $152 billion to the economy and generates a thirteen percent return on investment. Yet the system continues to operate under sustained strain.

Across the country, child care businesses are being pushed into crisis. Many are reducing services or considering closure. Families are losing access to care, often with little notice and few alternatives. These impacts are not isolated. They are affecting entire communities.

Family child care educators are central to this conversation. They provide flexible hours, mixed-age care, and long-standing relationships with families. In many communities, especially rural and low-access areas, they are the primary source of care. According to the NAFCC Annual Survey Report, 87 percent of family child care educators offer care outside of standard business hours. When these programs close, there are often no immediate replacements.

These programs operate on margins so thin they cannot absorb sudden funding disruptions or prolonged uncertainty. Educators still face rent or mortgage payments, food costs, utilities, insurance, and staffing expenses regardless of whether payments are delayed.

It is true that the FY2026 funding bill includes increases for key programs such as the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and Preschool Development Grants, Birth through Five. These investments matter. However, their impact must be viewed in the context of sustained inflation and rising operating costs.

Over the past several years, child care business owners have experienced significant increases in food, utilities, insurance, staffing, and compliance expenses. When adjusted for these realities, current funding levels largely maintain existing capacity rather than expand it. In practice, this means preventing further decline rather than strengthening the system.

If we are serious about strengthening the economy, then child care must be seen as an economic issue, a policy issue, not a family issue. Funding should align with the true cost of care, account for inflation, and provide stability for both educators and families.

As someone who has spent a career building early childhood systems and who directly benefited from early learning opportunities, such as Head Start, Family Friend and Neighbor care, and Family Child Care, I understand what is at stake. Early investment shaped my life. Every child deserves that same opportunity.

So before we celebrate all the “winning,” let’s remember: America does not win without working families, and that doesn’t happen without child care.

Eboni Delaney is the Director of Policy and Movement Building at the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), and a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project in Partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute.