Nationwide, the current supply of infant and toddler early care and education (ECE) does not meet demand, and the costs of care are unaffordable for many families. Two federally funded programs—the Child Care and Development Block Grant and the Early Head Start program—seek to close the gap by supporting access to stable, high-quality child care and other comprehensive services for infants and toddlers in families with low incomes. State and local investments can support this goal, yet each state has differences in demand, costs, quality, and policies governing infant and toddler ECE.
To better understand their state’s ECE needs, state policymakers need clear information about the number of infants and toddlers, the income levels of their families, state licensing requirements, and ECE costs in their state. Here, we offer snapshots of the ECE landscape for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States overall.
Using these snapshots, state policymakers can identify potential ECE needs, tailor efforts to the families in their state, and take actions to increase the supply of quality, affordable infant and toddler ECE.
For information on state-by-state comparisons, see “Comparing Potential Demand for Infant and Toddler Early Care and Education, Costs, Licensing and Planned Policies Across States.”
These snapshots were supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (Grant Number YE24001137) totaling $450,000 with 100 percent funded by ACF/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official view of, nor an endorsement by, ACF/HHS or the US government. For more information, please visit the ACF website. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in these snapshots are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the funder or the Urban Institute. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is available at urban.org/funding-principles.
Suggested Citation: Diane Schilder, Kiersten Vaughan, Laura Wagner, Erica Greenberg, and Ridhi Purohit. 2025. “State Snapshots of Infant and Toddler Early Care and Education,” Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
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