News
Stay connected with the latest from First Children's Finance. Find news stories, state and national newsletters, success stories from child care entrepreneurs across the country, and our yearly impact reports highlighting the difference we're making in child care communities nationwide. You can also explore our publications library for research, guides, and resources designed to strengthen child care businesses and the communities that depend on them.
When Policy Meets Sovereignty: Tribal Early Childhood Considerations
Across the country, Tribal Nations are building early childhood systems as part of broader nation-building efforts. These systems are not only about care and education—they are critical infrastructure that support families, strengthen workforce participation, and contribute to long-term economic stability within Tribal communities.
Compensation: What Systems Leaders Can Learn from Child Care Businesses
Across the country, state and local leaders agree on the challenge: child care jobs are among the lowest-paid in the economy, workforce shortages are profound, and program sustainability is fragile.
From Launch to Longevity: Rethinking Support for Child Care Businesses
At First Children’s Finance, our National Team spends each day working at the intersection of policy, practice, and the real-world experiences of child care businesses. We step back to look across communities and states, identifying what’s working-and where systems are falling short.
Following Vermont’s Act 76 Investment, New Family Child Care Picture Emerges
Nationally – and historically in Vermont – family child care has often been perceived as low-earning, undervalued work. However, recent cost modeling in Vermont reveals it is feasible to operate a family child care home and have business earnings roughly on par with median wages in the state.
Proposed Federal Rule Would Roll Back Key Child Care Payment Protections
On January 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule that would rescind several core provisions of the 2024 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) final rule — provisions designed to strengthen affordability for families and stabilize payments to child care providers.
Data to Decisions: Analyzing Vermont’s Child Care Supply-Demand Gap
Supply demand gap analyses are a critical tool for understanding the availability of child care relative to the needs of families and employers in a given community. At their core, these analyses estimate how many child care seats are available, how many children are likely to need care, and where gaps exist.
From One Generation to the Next: New Model Addresses Critical Transition
A handful of pioneering states have unlocked unprecedented funding for early childhood education, moving ever closer to fully financed child care systems with adequate access, high quality care, and a well-compensated workforce.
Strengthening the Workforce: Bringing the Business Owners’ Voice to NASLEE
At the NASLEE Roundtable in Pittsburgh, I sat alongside national experts for a panel discussion about the state of the early learning and care workforce— its history, its challenges, and its future.
