 Dear reader,
Here’s a little-known fact about our country’s sprawling, chaotic system of child care: Friends, family and neighbors overwhelmingly provide most of it.
That’s why, in our ongoing coverage of the U.S. child care crisis, Jackie Mader’s detailed look at the help these caregivers need is so important. The state of Hawaii – where such care is not only valued culturally but is also an economic necessity – has the highest percentage of families, 72 percent, that use federal funds to pay for such unlicensed care.
Hawaii is also becoming something of a role model when it comes to the training and support these caregivers need, Mader found, in an intensive look at what can be learned from one state’s progress, also published with our partners at Honolulu Civil Beat. This week Mader also looks at struggles families of children with disabilities are having when it comes to accessing quality childcare, while Jill Barshay dives into our ongoing coverage of math with a new debate around the ‘science of math.’
Finally, learn more about the latest population left behind in higher education – men – and efforts to get more of them into college classrooms. Please share widely, let us know what you think and remind friends and colleagues to sign up for our newsletters and become a member.
Liz Willen, Editor
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