What Is The Health Care Organization’S Response To Accessible Childcare?

Childcare access is crucial for improving language, literacy, and emotional regulation skills in children, especially those from disadvantaged families. Health equity is linked to improving access to child care and early education, and partnerships between health and early education sectors can help address this issue. Most children in the US attend early care and education (ECE) such as public or private preschools, child care centers, or Head Start before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) introduced new incentives for child health care to deliver better quality and shift to value-based reimbursement, focusing on preventing disease. Pediatrics has moved to more formally screen and address specific social determinants of health, including food insecurity and housing instability. Research shows that affordable nonprofit childcare results in beneficial developmental outcomes for children and families.

Renewal of federal funding is needed to improve health equity in early childhood by reducing poverty in households with children. However, chronic federal underinvestment and mounting costs often limit families’ ability to afford infant and toddler care. Partnerships between healthcare systems and community-based childcare organizations can alleviate the access to care barrier.

Childcare needs are a leading barrier to healthcare among women accessing care in safety-net settings. Unmet childcare needs result in unvalued daycare workers not receiving decent wages and not having access to quality childcare services. Partnerships between healthcare systems and community-based childcare organizations can help alleviate these barriers and improve the lives of children and adults.