Advocate toolkit
Your voice matters. Families need affordable, reliable child care. Federal policy can make that possible. But change only happens when lawmakers hear from the people it impacts most. First Five Action equips you with facts, tools, and strategies to be an effective advocate for federal child care policies on Capitol Hill.
Child Care Primers
Everything you need to know about what child care and early learning policy means for families, the economy and your community.
Child Care and Appropriations
Each year Congress allocates federal funding to serve as the foundation for early learning and child care programs in all 50 states. This funding supports federal programs including: CCDBG, Head Start and Early Head Start, and more.
Head Start
Head Start programs support young children from birth to age five who are living in poverty, foster care, or without stable housing. Head Start offers early learning, meals, health services, and developmental support.
Child Care and the Federal Tax Code
Child care-related tax breaks can help parents offset the cost of care, benefiting working parents and young children while supporting economic stability across the country.
Media center
Dive deeper into the policy resources and real life child care challenges faced by families using the media below.
July 2026 Child Care Poll
A new national survey finds that voters see child care as a key driver of the nation’s affordability challenges and believe policymakers should take action to make child care more accessible and affordable.
2026 National Child Care Poll
New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.