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Child Care

Affordable, dependable child care allows children to thrive, parents to get to work or school, and employers to find and retain workers. But for too many Minnesota families, child care is out of reach due to high costs and long waiting lists for child care assistance.

Our analysis and advocacy focuses on expanding Minnesota's child care assistance so that parents can find the child care that meets their needs, children are in safe, reliable care, and to strengthen Minnesota's workforce.

Research

December 2008

The lost decade: Taking a closer look at Minnesota's public investments in the 2000s

The Lost Decade looks closely at funding trends in four state budget areas that significantly impact the well-being of Minnesotans: early education and K-12 education, higher education, child care assistance, and affordable housing and homelessness prevention. As a result of funding cuts in these areas, many Minnesotans had fewer opportunities to succeed in school, in the workplace, or in providing a decent standard of living for their families.

March 2008

Addressing inequality: 2007 Legislative Session still leaves many children behind

March 2006

Impact of the President's proposed 2007 budget on Minnesota

January 2006

The budget conference agreement's impact on Minnesota

Child Care Blog Posts

May 29, 2024

In 2024 session, policymakers progress toward improving health care and child care

While 2024 was not a budget-setting year for the state, policymakers made use of the limited resources they had to build on last year’s transformational investments and took steps to set the state up for a brighter future. This year, child care affordability and affordable health care accessibility continued to rise to the top as a priority for many Minnesotans. This blog takes a look at the policy and budget decisions made this year to make affordable health care and child care available to more Minnesotans.

May 14, 2024

Decisions in session’s final days should strengthen health care and child care for Minnesotans

In 2023, policymakers made transformational budget investments for the well-being of Minnesotans and their families....

April 17, 2024

Powerful stories show child care is unaffordable for many; Great Start Scholarships are a solution

This legislative session, families, lawmakers, advocates, and more have drawn attention to child care affordability as an urgent problem that requires solutions. Earlier this session, a hearing was held at the Minnesota House of Representatives where a number of testifiers spoke to the struggles with affordability they face. Parents and providers alike are looking for policy solutions; here are a few of their stories.

May 11, 2023

Cooperation paves the way for important investments in affordable child care

With a historic surplus of $17.5 billion for FY 2024-25 and $5.4 billion structural balance for FY 2026-27 , Minnesota...

Our Child Care Policy Work

issues > child care spotlight

Making affordable child care available to families

We support policies to ensure that more Minnesota families have affordable, reliable child care that meets their needs and supports their pathways to economic security. The final budget agreed to by Governor Tim Walz and the 2019 Minnesota Legislature includes important steps to bring child care assistance in Minnesota up to federal standards, which will make child care assistance work better for families experiencing homelessness and ensure families moving to another county don't lose their assistance.

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Issues