Care in America

America is in a caregiving crisis. Although 12 million children under five live in households where all parents work outside the home, our fragmented, patchwork system fails to provide affordable, quality care for all the families who need it. Parents struggle to find care, teachers and caregivers are paid poverty wages, and children are unable to reap the benefits of high-quality early learning.

The Care Index, a data set and methodology collaboration between the Better Life Lab and Care.com, offers new information on the cost, quality, and availability of child care in every state in the U.S. Our Care Report, an independent analysis of the Index, illuminates the shortfalls, bright spots, challenges, and opportunities in the U.S. child care landscape. Among the key findings: cost, quality, and availability vary dramatically around the country, but no state does all three well. Child care often exceeds the cost of college tuition or rent, yet quality remains low. 

 Explore the Index

What’s wrong with our child care system, and how can we fix it? Whether you’re a parent, a policymaker, or both, our comprehensive Care Report sheds new light on the multifaceted issue of child care. See how your state stacks up with our interactive map. Learn more about the range of challenges states face in our four in-depth state case studies. Find out what cost, quality, and availability really mean and why they matter. So, where we go from here? Our policy recommendations offer bold, big-picture solutions for our caregiving crisis, including paid family leave, cash assistance, universal pre-K, and support for dual language learners.

The Care Index Launch featured some of the most important voices on caregiving today: representatives from the Clinton and Trump campaigns, as well as experts including New America’s Anne-Marie Slaughter, Care.com’s Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Ai-jen Poo of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Caring Across Generations, A. T. Kearney’s Erik Peterson, and Lynette Fraga of Child Care Aware of America. Missed the launch event? Watch the discussion online now.

And check out press coverage of the Index in outlets including the Washington Post, Bloomberg, Fortune, and Slate.     

Better lives and better jobs

“Can you have a good life if you don’t have a good job?” New America’s Michael Lind asks in the New York Times. Though our politicians in both parties emphasize good jobs with benefits (as we saw in Monday’s debate), Lind argues that we need to think bigger if we are to guarantee a good life to all Americans. In our Care Report’s policy recommendations, we explore the importance of policies like paid leave and cash assistance, which would support parents even if their jobs do not.

Beyond family

One reason that our broken child care system is so disruptive for parents is that many are on their own when it comes to child care. What if there were an alternative to the autonomous, single-family model? Cohousing — where a community of families share resources like kitchens, gardens, and common spaces, as well as community norms — offers potential benefits for families seeking a more connected lifestyle. Single people, too, need community and connection.

Debating gender

We took a break from working on the Care Report to watch Monday’s presidential debate — complete with maddening gender dynamics: by one count, Donald Trump interrupted Hillary Clinton 51 times. Trump also questioned Clinton’s “stamina” and “temperament,” while Clinton highlighted Trump’s past comments about women. However, one surprising area of agreement in a contentious debate was the need for affordable, quality child care.

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About New America

New America is dedicated to the renewal of American politics, prosperity, and purpose in the Digital Age. Our hallmarks are big ideas, pragmatic policy solutions, technological innovation, and creative engagement with broad audiences. Read the rest of our story, or see what we've been doing recently in our latest Annual Report.

About the Better Life Lab

New America’s Breadwinning & Caregiving Program is thrilled to unveil a new name, the Better Life Lab, and an updated agenda to transform policy and culture so that people and families have the opportunity to live their best lives at work and at home. As a “lab,” we are dedicated to disruptive experiments, collaborative work, and innovative thinking.

“Your Life, Better: News From the Better Life Lab” will be our way to keep you in the know, featuring the best of what we’re reading and writing about gender equity, the evolution of work, and social policies that support 21st-century families. We will be a clear signal amid the noise to share what’s fresh and crucial to an inclusive vision of work-life, gender, and income equity issues.

Meet the Better Life Lab Team

Better Life Lab

Real choices. Real parity. All people.