Within the next few years, however, millions of American families will have access to an ample supply of free or very low-cost child care. The pandemic has made a bad situation catastrophic. Even before the pandemic, about half of Americans lived in “ child care deserts.” And when parents can find a slot, the cost is often backbreaking. Many may not realize quite yet just how enormous a change is coming. If Democrats can get their “Build Back Better” package across the finish line, the child-care and pre-K provisions would be arguably the greatest victory for American families in several generations. Almost exactly 50 years later, the nation once again stands on the precipice of revolutionizing its child-care system. With bipartisan support, Congress passed the Comprehensive Child Development Act-which would have created a publicly funded, state-run program with parent payments on a sliding scale of affordability- but President Richard Nixon vetoed it.
In 1971, the United States came within a pen stroke of having a functional child-care system.
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