Quality child care is essential to our nation’s well-being, allowing parents to work and children to thrive. Yet America has a fragmented child care system that is holding us back and hurting everyone. Families struggle to find and afford quality child care, the child care workforce cannot afford to stay in the field, child care programs operate on razor thin margins, employers are losing billions of dollars in productivity, and the military has determined that the child care crisis is impacting mission readiness. participate in the workforce. Businesses benefit, as parents’ productivity increases when they have reliable child care for their children. Given these impacts, child care also benefits the economy. And quality child care benefits children, with positive impacts on multiple aspects of development. Since child care benefits accrue not only to children and families, but also to businesses and the broader economy, state and local governments and businesses, as well as families, all have a role to play in supporting