BISMARCK, N.D. – It's almost time for North Dakota kids to go back to school – but some of the state's youngest won't be getting an education just yet.

The approach of the first day of the school year spotlights how few young North Dakotans are enrolled in early education programs – only 31%. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the state ranks last in the nation for participation.

Karen Olson, program director for North Dakota KIDS COUNT, says access and affordability are two of the biggest barriers for families. She notes about three-quarters of children live in households where both parents are working – one of the highest rates in the nation.

"When we look at county-level data in terms of availability of licensed child care, there are some counties in our state where we're meeting less than 10% of the potential need – need being those young children with working parents," says Olson.

Olson adds that the average cost for a four-year-old at a child-care center is $8,200 a year, which is about 10% of the average family income in North Dakota.

Olson says the state has started to address this issue. In 2015, the Legislature passed a bill that provides scholarships to preschool programs that serve low-income families. She says conservative estimates find a $7 return to society for every one dollar spent on early education.

"Investment in high-quality preschool programs is a critical long-term economic investment in school readiness, student achievement and the future workforce," says Olson. “Those early experiences create a foundation for children to be not only successful students but eventually, productive adults."

Olson also notes dependable child care helps working parents, who sometimes have to miss work to find consistent care.

She says families can check out Child Care Aware of North Dakota to find local resources.


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An increase in child-care subsidy reimbursement rates up to 58% of market rate is being hailed as a big win for providers in Missouri.

Sarah Gould is the early-childhood director for Community Support Services of Missouri, which primarily cares for children with special needs in Jasper County.

She said the rate increase, which was signed in June by Gov. Mike Parson, helps families be able to afford child care.

"There's more stability for them," said Gould, "and they're able to use those resources that they would have put in child care to pay for additional utility costs or food costs, because we know those have all gone up in the last several years."

American Rescue Plan stabilization funds and some emergency aid through Congress for early-childhood education expired at the start of October, and Missouri child-care providers are looking for long-term solutions.

Missouri often is referred to as a state with many child-care deserts, and any loss of subsidies can be straining.

Casey Hanson, director of outreach and engagement for Kids Win Missouri, said it's important to come up with permanent solutions.

"So there's a little bit more relief money that will get pumped into the system," said Hanson, "but a lot of those opportunities that providers have used to keep their doors open over the last couple of years are going away. And that's why we're so focused on making sure that as a state, we're making investments that are more sustainable."

Hanson said it's important for families and parents to talk to elected officials and leaders about the needs for reliable, safe child care and also for child-care providers to be vocal about the impact of rate increases and how it helps their organizations.

The coalition known as "Think Babies Michigan" has advocated for more than $36 million in funding to offer grants to child-care providers for infants and toddlers.

Families with young children from across Michigan have joined the coalition to advocate for improvements in early child care, in terms of quality and affordability. But many of those care providers are struggling to keep their doors open.

Sacha Klein, senior director of policy and advocacy for the Early Childhood Investment Corp., underscored the dire need for this funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

"Those child-care providers increase the quality of care that they are able to offer families," she said. "It'll enable them to pay their staff a living wage for the work that they do, and reimburse them as 'brain builders,' which is the way we think of early-learning staff."

The Think Babies Michigan collaborative is made up of more than 30 groups and numerous parents. Klein said it intentionally prioritizes having parents co-lead and co-design the policy agenda-setting process.

Although the coalition focuses primarily on making policy changes, Klein said it can also help families find the direct services that are available to support them around caring for their babies.

"We have secured greater public investment for early-on services, which enable families to get the services that they need," she said, "to intervene early if their baby shows signs of developmental delay or disability."

She said Think Babies Michigan aims to increase access and enrollment in high-quality child care and home-visiting services, along with early intervention and postpartum care for low-income families with children from birth to age three.


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For many in Nebraska's child-care industry, which was struggling even before the pandemic, the "Child Care Stabilization" funds in the American Rescue Plan Act made a huge difference. The money must be disbursed by Sept. 30, causing concern about a "funding cliff" for child care.

Catherine Huddleston-Casas, Ph.D., associate director of workforce planning and development at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, said the pandemic shone a light on the "poverty wages" many child-care workers receive. She said some found they could make better money in less-demanding jobs.

"The knowledge and expertise that is developed through the process of working under a seasoned child-care provider - all of that is going to be lost if we don't do something to try to keep our providers in their positions," she said.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services distributed the stabilization funds in a variety of ways, including stipends to employees at licensed child-care centers, and grants to center owners and staff to help pay down school loans. In a survey of Nebraska providers, 87% reported receiving some COVID relief money in the previous year, and most had used it for rent and utilities. Today, Nebraska has 10% fewer child-care programs than before the pandemic.

Grants also helped centers expand their capacity. Ninety-one-percent of Nebraska counties have a shortage of licensed child-care slots, and 11 counties have no licensed providers.

Susan Sarver, Ph.D., director of workforce planning and development at the Buffett Institute, said the way funds were disbursed may help the state experience a less severe "funding cliff" than it might have.

"Some states are still maintaining centers, so they're paying wages through those pandemic funds," she said, "and when that money disappears, those are the places that are going to have the biggest drop."

Sarver acknowledged that only when there's data to examine will it be possible to evaluate the sustainability of Nebraska's approach.

Huddleston-Casas authored a recent study showing the gap to fully fund Nebraska's early-childhood care and education grew from 51% in 2017 to 57% in 2021. She said there won't be any quick fixes, but examination of the current system is crucial, including the way it's funded. She considers this especially important because of what we've learned about child development.

"They're not just passive recipients; there's a lot going on in a baby's brain," she said. "But in what ways does the system we have give us the opportunity to do better? Or are we stuck with a system that doesn't know how to accommodate the developmental needs of children?"