"It's Really the Support System that Makes It" Expanding Infant-Toddler Child Care Option in New York, Notes from the Field

Authors

Mark K. NagasawaFollow

Files

Description

This report discusses findings from a small, exploratory study of early childhood educators' experiences working to expand access to high quality child care for infants and toddlers. Because of who participated in the study, it takes a particular focus on the federally-funded Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership program. The study's contribution lies in surfacing fine-grained policy issues that complicate expansion efforts from the perspectives of professionals who live within a fragmented early care and education (ECE) system every day. This "non-system" (1) makes it difficult to provide continuity of care to children and their families; (2) lacks appropriate space(s) to meet families' child care needs; and (3) complicates relationships between ECE professionals and those trying to support them. However, the depth of policy expertise demonstrated by how the study's participants navigate these issues highlights an important opportunity to infuse systems building efforts with their pooled expertise.

Publication Date

Fall 11-18-2025

Publisher

Bank Street College of Education

City

New York

Disciplines

Early Childhood Education | Education Policy

Recommended Citation

Nagasawa, M. K. (2025). "It's Really the Support System that Makes It" Expanding Infant-Toddler Child Care Option in New York, Notes from the Field. Bank Street College of Education. https://educate.bankstreet.edu/sc/18