CONTACT
Christopher Gil
Director of Strategic Communications and Influence
(415) 287-3197, cgil@liifund.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LIIF and Openfields Release Three New Reports on the Ecosystem of Child Care Infrastructure in Washington, D.C.
Report-release event convenes policymakers and sector leaders from the District to discuss solutions
SAN FRANCISCO (Nov. 21, 2024) — The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) has announced the release of three reports on the ecosystem of child care infrastructure in Washington, D.C., where the community development financial institution (CDFI) had been offering facilities fund management for several years. Educare of Washington, D.C., a Head Start provider serving over 375 children from prenatal to age five, hosted an event at their Ward 7 location today. Sector leaders, including Under 3 DC, discussed child care facilities gaps highlighted in the trio of data-rich reports, plus offered insights on possible solutions for supporting these small businesses that are the backbone of the economy of the District – and the nation overall.
Some key findings from the reports include:
- In 2023, an estimated 35,400 children ages 0-5 living in the District had a need for licensed child care.
- As of October 2023, the District had 35,280 licensed child care slots for children ages 0-5 — a 7.7% increase in total supply since the same month in 2017.
- Some child-development facilities reported difficulty paying for expenses to maintain or update their space: More respondents disagreed (37.3%) than agreed (35.3%) with the statement, “I am able to pay for regular repairs and maintenance in my facility.”
- Child care facilities rely on a variety of public and private spaces to effectively serve children, but they report having limited authority to improve the public realm around their buildings (i.e., sidewalks, intersections, public parks).
- Parents who completed transit diaries described the complexity of scheduling and coordinating pick up and drop off from child care, as well as the many responsibilities they face on a daily basis.
- Surveyed parents from programs serving lower-income children tended to describe longer, more hectic and less stable commutes.
The Parkside neighborhood, where today’s gathering was held, is undergoing major redevelopment. LIIF believes that part of the fabric of the community must include child-friendly streets and early care and education (ECE) facilities in proximity to transit, families’ homes and/or workplaces. After today’s Ward 7 event, attendees took a 10-minute stroll from Educare’s facility to the Kenilworth Metro stop, with the walk showcasing city infrastructure and its impact on existing parts of the child care ecosystem.
“LIIF is proud of its partnerships that have strengthened the infrastructure of the Washington, D.C. child care ecosystem,” said President Kimberly Latimer-Nelligan at LIIF. “These reports showcase the remaining and projected gaps and the solutions to address ongoing inequities. LIIF will keep working with our partners to ensure affordable, accessible child care for all of the District’s families, in every ward.”
“The data in this new report shows that the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund is indeed the transformational policy experts predicted it would be,” said Executive Director Kimberly Perry at DC Action, who is also Co-Chair at Under 3 DC. “Equitable compensation and benefits strengthen the consistency of the educators in children’s lives and the District’s child care system while supporting the District’s local economy. The Pay Equity Fund deserves the District’s full support without any political machinations, and I look forward to seeing this happen.”
Read the reports:
Report #1 | Assessing the Gap
Report #3 | “It’s My School! Over There!”
Greater Greater Washington article.
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About the Low Income Investment Fund
Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) is a national community development financial institution (CDFI), headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., that invests to help create communities of opportunity, equity and well-being. As a CDFI, LIIF supports projects that have high social value but lack access to traditional financial institutions. Since 1984, LIIF has deployed more than $3.5 billion to serve more than 2.5 million people in communities across the country from its five offices. An S&P-rated organization, LIIF funds healthy communities by providing innovative capital solutions.
liifund.org
About Openfields
Openfields was founded in 2014 with the vision of bringing the most creative, strategic tools for innovation from across sectors to bear on our most pressing, complex social issues. We work with foundations, nonprofits, universities and mission-minded corporations around the country to generate insight into complex social challenges and develop dynamic strategies for impact. Our services include strategy, research, data analysis, systems intelligence, and program design and evaluation.
openfields.com
About Educare DC
Educare DC serves over 375 children from prenatal to age five with high-quality early learning using a holistic family approach. It has two campuses at Parkside and at IDEA Public Charter School, as well as four Early Head Start Child Care Partnership sites across Wards 7 and 8. Educare DC’s mission is to eliminate the opportunity gap for young children experiencing poverty in Washington, D.C., and helps them build the skills necessary for success in kindergarten and beyond.
educaredc.org
About Under 3 DC
Under 3 DC harnesses the voices and power of District families with young children, early educators, health professionals, and community-based organizations to spotlight the need for more public investments in early education and health programs for infants and toddlers. Together, we can set the District of Columbia on a path to creating and sustaining a high-quality, equitable early childhood system.
under3dc.org
LIIF will keep working with our partners to ensure affordable, accessible child care for all of the District’s families, in every ward.
LIIF President Kimberly Latimer-Nelligan