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Day Without Child Care is a moment where we show our power,

where we come together and know we are in solidarity together. On Monday, May 12th, we broke the mold together in the largest one-day work stoppage in childcare history. Some of our highlights.

  • 1,395 childcare providers closed their doors or called out with the support of the families they serve
  • Powerful childcare leaders organized 100s of events across 27 states & D.C.
  • We swarmed state Capitol buildings across the country including in Columbus, OH, Baton Rouge, LA, and St. Paul, MN, to name a few….
  • Our work gained national attention, with features on NPR and over 330 local news outlets across the country, reaching more than 186.4 million people
  • Your social media posts reached approximately 20.6 million impressions and our best count so far has 131 local, state and federal elected officials participating in or supporting events 
Press Release

We are powerful together.

Our job is to see that, to bring our community together, and bring our power. We showed up this week for the 4th National Day Without Child Care, and we’ll keep showing up until we see the results of the transformative childcare system our families deserve.

People are fed up with the interests of billionaires coming before our babies, our budgets, and our benefits. But we know that together, our voices can rise and we can win the childcare system – and the care economy – we all deserve.

Our demands include:

  1. An equitable childcare system built on racial and gender justice
  2. Thriving wages for childcare providers
  3. Affordable and accessible child care for all families.
  4. No cuts to Head Start
  5. No cuts to Medicaid/SNAP

In the News

Grassroots organizers generated over 630 press hits across the country. Below is a sample of this reach.

WBUR / NPR

Here & Now’s Asma Khalid speaks with Childcare Changemaker Kristyn Rose.

Listen Now

WBNS-TV Columbus

"Ohio child care providers rally for more government funding during 'child care crisis'"

See Coverage

ABC 6 Columbus

"Childcare workers to rally at Ohio Statehouse for increased funding"

Read Article

KQED

"Child Care Advocates Denounce Head Start Layoffs in Santa Clara County:

Read Article

NBC Bay Area

"System is collapsing': Advocates rally at ‘Day Without Child Care' event in San Jose"

Explore Coverage

ABC Tampa Bay

"Childcare provider takes different approach to national 'Day Without Childcare' movement"

Explore Coverage

99.5 Atlanta

"“A Day Without Childcare” rally held to address rising costs in Georgia"

Listen Now

KTSP 5 (ABC) Minneapolis-St. Pau

"Minnesota child care providers plan to close Monday for day of action"

Watch Now

Santa Fe New Mexican

"New Mexico early childhood centers push for better wages"

Read Now

WRAL News

"Day without child care: Families, day care workers to rally for improvement in Raleigh"

Explore Coverage

News 3 Las Vegas

"Nevada advocates call for end to childcare 'desert' at local rally"

Watch Segment

Chalkbeat

"Philadelphia City Council president proposes early childhood task force as workers seek higher wages"

Read More

8 News Now Las Vegas

"Las Vegas child care providers rally in support of bill in Nevada legislature"

Watch Segment

The Mercury News

California child care workers demand more funding amid Trump threats to Head Start

Read Article

FOX 13 Salt Lake City

"Advocates organize 'Day without childcare' to highlight difficulty on both sides"

Watch Segment

KVUE (ABC Austin)

"Austin organization to host 'National Day Without Child Care' rally"

Watch Now

Telemundo Austin

"Austin se suma al "Día Nacional sin Cuidado Infantil", piden más fondos a la legislatura"

Mira ahora

CBS 6 (Richmond)

"Infant care costs in Virginia average nearly $18,000 a year. Advocates want to see more investment."

Watch Now

Press Inquiries

Contact

media@communitychange.org

In-Person Actions

At least 27 states across the country hosted actions for our National Day Without Child Care, including Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.

The demands were clear: stronger protections and investments in child care, and no cuts to basic needs programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and Head Start that help millions of people make ends meet. 

Below is a just a snapshot of these actions.

LOUISIANA

Baton Rouge

In a powerful and historic show of unity, over 800 early childhood educators, center owners, teachers, parents, business leaders, and community members rallied on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol for the National Day Without Childcare, hosted by For Providers, By Providers.

  • More than 106 childcare centers closed their doors to join the demonstration, creating what one state senator called the largest crowd he had seen at the Capitol in 70 years.
  • Advocates demanded bold action, including an $87 million increase to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), a $30 million investment in the state’s Early Care and Education Fund, and a commitment of $110 million annually over the next decade to build toward $1 billion in early childhood education.
  • The day ended on a high note with the announcement that there would be no cuts to the CCAP budget.

OHIO

Columbus

Advocates rallied with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative at the statehouse to push legislators to pass policies that will sustain and support Ohio’s childcare system.

 

Watch on TikTok

PENNSYLVANIA

PHILADELPHIA

Voice of ECE hosted early childhood educators, teachers, providers, families, and policymakers at City Hall to speak truth to the need for higher compensation for providers and lower costs for families.

NORTH CAROLINA

Raleigh

With more than 104 centers closing their doors, providers and families participated in a Child Care Rally, shared their stories, danced, and made their demands heard.

Families need greater investment in the child care system, including fair wages for workers, funding to cover the actual cost of care, and expanded access.

MISSOURI

St. Louis

WEPOWER launched the STL Child Care Voter Campaign as part of the national day of action. Centers across the city closed their doors, with some turning the day into a professional development opportunity for providers. Kiddos and providers dressed in superhero gear joined WEPOWER in a rally for stronger childcare investment.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington

SPACEs in Action hosted a speak-out. They shared stories with providers and parents at Freedom Plaza and were joined by At-Large DC Councilmember Christina Henderson and Ward 4 DC Councilmember Janeese Lewis George. Children in attendance got their faces painted and enjoyed a bounce house. Providers visited City Council offices before and after the rally, accompanied by the kids they care for, to ask for continued support for childcare professionals in D.C.

It Takes A Village

Here are some of the partners who make this day possible.

Georgia Family Child Care Essentials Network

First UP

WEPOWER

Bright Little Scholars

Family Values @ Work

Destination Imagination Child Care & Play-school

National Women's Law Center

L.O.V.E. Your Child's Care

Family Circle Academy

Virginia Organizing

Latin American Child Care Provider Association - LACCPA

Colorado Association of Family Child Care (CAFCC)

SPACEs in Action

United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN)

Colorado Association of Family Child Care (CAFCC)

Loree’s land of love and learning

Tenderloving Preschool

Destination Imagination Child Care & Play-school

For Providers By Providers

Families First in Cabarrus County

Main Street Alliance

Home Grown

Child Care for Every Family Network

All Our Kin

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

SEIU

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

National Domestic Workers Alliance

Economic Security Project Action

Indivisible

Coalition on Human Needs

Changemaker Convention

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