Our latest report, Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply, finds that the nation’s child care system made little progress in 2025, with supply failing to keep pace with families’ needs and prices remaining out of reach for too many families. CCAoA’s latest analysis of child care supply and prices across the country highlights a system under strain, and many families continue to be forced to make trade-offs between financial stability and workforce participation.

A Henrico preschool where children learn in English, Spanish and American Sign Language is preparing for a major expansion. BilingualKid Language Immersion School currently has 200 students on its waitlist. It is the only Spanish immersion preschool in Central Virginia.

Virginia families struggling with the surging cost of child care could see some relief under a new program signed into law by the governor. The legislation establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Program, which is designed to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs of their employees.

Early care and education (ECE) experiences can have positive lasting impacts on children's learning and development. However, there is growing concern that the low wages and high turnover rates common in child care settings compromise quality, and in turn, limit the benefits of ECE.

Alexis Gresham, a single mother to 3-year-old Kenzleigh, recently got a slight pay increase at work — which resulted in her losing access to the Child Care Subsidy Program, the commonwealth's largest state-supported child care program. The monthly cost of Kenzleigh's care is about $1,300, which she said has left their family worse off financially than before her raise. "That's basically another rent payment," Gresham said. "Nobody should fear getting promoted — or a salary increase — for fear of losing a critical safety net." The state Senate's budget proposal includes $3 million to gradually phase out CCSP eligibility for Virginians like Gresham so they don't suddenly lose access to subsidized child care as a result of a pay increase. (The House of Delegates' budget does not include funding for the effort.) The Senate has also proposed $50 million over the next two fiscal years for a pilot program that would incentivize employers to contribute to employees' child care costs. (The House budget includes $25 million for FY27, which runs from July 1–June 30, 2027.)