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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Sep 9

Exciting news from New Mexico, proving that states continue to innovate in the face of the federal government's decades of inaction on childcare. Don't let anyone tell you there isn't nationwide demand for childcare as a public good. shorturl.at/tTENi

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Sep 9

Coverage of "Raising a Nation" from @latimes.com

www.latimes.com/california/s...

Public school is a right. Should child care be considered one too?

Researcher Elliot Haspel thinks advocates are framing the argument for child care all wrong. Why he believes child care is central to family creation — and national security.

www.latimes.com

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Lea Woods @lea9223.bsky.social · Sep 8

State and local policymakers looking to increase child care affordability, supply, and compensation must continue expanding public funding. Tri-Share does not build supply or substantively improve wages and benefits, making it a poor solution to the child care crisis. tcf.org/content/comm...

The Tri-Share Model Is Not a Solution to the Child Care Crisis

Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called child care a “textbook example of a broken market.” The problems plaguing this broken market were aptly

tcf.org

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Sep 2

Everyone having a sportsbook in their pocket is not, it turns out, a good idea.

familyfrontier.substack.com/p/unfettered...

Unfettered Sports Betting is Bad

Some genies can -- and should -- be put back in the bottle

familyfrontier.substack.com

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Suzanne Kahn @suzmkahn.bsky.social · Aug 28

"Childcare undergirds everything we care about as Americans." - Great conversation between @lbilik.bsky.social and @ehaspel.bsky.social in today's Fireside Stacks.

www.firesidestacks.com/p/raising-a-...

Raising a Nation: Elliot Haspel on What a Universal Childcare Movement Will Take

It is no secret that childcare in the US is, as Elliot Haspel puts it, “a hellscape.” Elliot’s new book, Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All, is a welcome add...

www.firesidestacks.com

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Aug 11

It's publication day for Raising a Nation! Get it on Amazon, Bookshop, or wherever you get your books!

www.amazon.com/dp/0197799299/

Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care For All

offers a new framework for thinking about a comprehensive, inclusive child care system: one that supports families in all their diversity, whether they want to utilize a licensed child care program, f...

www.amazon.com

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Aug 8

I have a piece out in @jacobinmag.bsky.social today, adapted from my new book Raising a Nation, on why good child care is about far more than just the economy-- it's about the very health of our communities and society.

jacobin.com/2025/08/chil...

Childcare Is Not Just an Economic Fix. It’s a Social Good.

Even strong defenders of childcare sometimes rely on the economic case that childcare programs keep workers in the labor force. While it’s not wrong, that argument misses the true role of childcare: s...

jacobin.com

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Stephen Nuñez @socio-steve.bsky.social · Aug 8

Also look at this screen. Look at our roster of experts! If you want to understand what is going on with the economy and with policy you need to attend @rooseveltinstitute.org events and read @rooseveltinstitute.org papers.

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Aug 7

At our recent webinar @kedseconomist.com compares the GOP budget bill to a toddler ignoring all the warnings and eating too much ice cream.

We know how that ends.

Congress has been living on ice cream for 25 years. It’s time for fruits, veggies—and a better future.

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Aug 7

Today, the think tank Capita launched our "Unifying Family Policy" series w/the first three interlinked policy briefs in a cumulative effort to forge a family policy agenda responsive to the forces that will shape family life in years to come. (Series intro & links here: capita.org/a-unified-fa... )

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Aug 7

Today, the think tank Capita launched our "Unifying Family Policy" series w/the first three interlinked policy briefs in a cumulative effort to forge a family policy agenda responsive to the forces that will shape family life in years to come. (Series intro & links here: capita.org/a-unified-fa... )

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Jul 23

Excited to share the first media coverage of my new book, "Raising a Nation," from @jackiemader.bsky.social! The book drops August 11th and can be pre-ordered here: www.amazon.com/dp/0197799299/.

hechingerreport.org/why-american...

New book argues child care is a ‘societal imperative’

In ‘Raising a Nation,’ researcher Elliot Haspel says everyone should want strong supports for early childhood, even those without children.

hechingerreport.org

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Suzanne Kahn @suzmkahn.bsky.social · Jul 21

Parents and providers know what they need in a childcare system: something simple & safe where all kids have a high quality spot. We worked with Community Change on a new paper w/ research rooted in conversations with stakeholders about these simple demands.

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jul 21

NEW📃: The US childcare system is failing families. It's unaffordable, unsustainable, & susceptible to corporate interests.

Today, we offer a bold vision to build a public, universal ECE system that puts children, families, and workers first. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Children and a teacher engaged in activities around a table at an Early Childhood Education center. Text on the image quotes from the Roosevelt Institute about the importance of ECE funding for public welfare.

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Jul 12

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/oregon-mom-4-kids-detained-weeks-customs-and-border-protection-peace-arch-park/283-c1d2b1be-cc4b-4b9c-bb09-97cd5515e7e7

'We cannot look away': Oregon congresswoman says mom, 4 children have been held in federal custody for nearly 2 weeks

Rep. Maxine Dexter said the four children are U.S. citizens and that the family has been detained since June 28 at a Washington CBP facility.

www.kgw.com

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jul 11

Childcare in America is broken—expensive, scarce, & treated like a private problem rather than a public priority.

@ehaspel.bsky.social & Rebecca Gale on how the US has failed to treat childcare as the essential infrastructure it is #fixingchildcare 👇 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Childcare is a hellscape for most US families. Why isn’t there a bigger push for change?

Long seen as women’s work, childcare is underpaid and considered a private matter for families – not government

www.theguardian.com

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Jul 11

I co wrote a piece, via @newamerica.org’s Better Life Lab, for @theguardian.com about America’s surprising lack of a mass social movement demanding major child care reform— https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/11/childcare-family-movement

Childcare is a hellscape for most US families. Why isn’t there a bigger push for change?

Long seen as women’s work, childcare is underpaid and considered a private matter for families – not government

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jul 3

A private equity-backed company sent letters to childcare programs in the Midwest asking, “Have you ever considered how you might transition your business to a new owner?”

A fitting title for @ehaspel.bsky.social's brief on private equity ownership in childcare. rooseveltinstitute.org/public...

Quote with
The rising market share of investor-backed childcare chains is not an isolated phenomenon; it is part and parcel of the broader financialization of human services, with investor activity ranging from nursing homes to autism service providers to emergency rooms to prisons. This financialization is most notably marked by the influence of private equity firms, which also exert political power to protect their interests—interests that are not always aligned with what is best for children, parents, staff, communities, and the country writ large. Most of these sectors are heavily dependent on government funding, meaning that this misalignment can result in private investment entities leeching off public money while also harming the end users.

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Bryce Covert @brycecovert.bsky.social · Jul 3

And those that choose not to massively cut SNAP and Medicaid will have to find the money elsewhere in their budgets. I've been reporting on state childcare programs recently and everyone expects unrelated things like that to get deeply slashed if these benefit cuts go through.

Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · Jul 3

States, unlike the federal government, cannot have deficits. The massive cost shift from the feds to states for both Medicaid and SNAP, will just lead states to either massively cut, or just abandon altogether, these programs.

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Jul 3

Huge sleeper issue is how states will (or won’t) be able to absorb huge SNAP cuts in BBB. www.inquirer.com/politics/pen...

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jul 1

More childcare providers are retiring—& without a plan, families face fewer and riskier options.

@ehaspel.bsky.social breaks down his new brief which explores how public policy can support ownership transitions that serve the public good #fixingchildcare familyfrontier.substack.com/p/who-a-chil...

Who a Child Care Program Sells to Matters

I have a new policy brief out with some ideas on public sector solutions to child care supply

familyfrontier.substack.com

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jun 27

📉 Childcare is a broken market—and it’s failing families, providers, and communities alike.

@ehaspel.bsky.social explores how public intervention isn’t optional, but essential. #fixingchildcare rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Quote from the Roosevelt Institute discussing the need for publicly supported ownership transition models in the childcare sector, emphasizing societal benefits and diverse, high-quality options.

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Jun 26

One reason private equity-backed child care chains continue to expand is that there is no one else for independent program owners to sell to. In a new brief for @rooseveltinstitute.org, I look at public sector solutions that can put kids & fam's over profit.

rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

“Have You Ever Considered How You Might Transition Your Business to a New Owner?” - Roosevelt Institute

In a new analysis Elliot Haspel explores how growing private equity ownership in childcare is driving inequality, limiting community access, and threatening sector stability—and how government-led sol...

rooseveltinstitute.org

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jun 26

Most of us probably know intuitively that private equity & investor-backed chains should have no place in the care & education of young children. Grateful for this excellent brief from @ehaspel.bsky.social that gets into the weeds of WHY & HOW we should guard against corporate capture of childcare.

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jun 26

NEW: Investor-backed chains are quietly taking over childcare—deepening inequality & shrinking access.

In a new brief, @ehaspel.bsky.social outlines how public tools can shift power back to families & communities. #fixingchildcare rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Local, state, and the federal government must develop alternate ownership transfer mechanisms in childcare as a bulwark against profit-maximizing financialization and as an affirmative good for building a family-friendly and family-centered care system and policy framework.

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jun 26

NEW: Investor-backed chains are quietly taking over childcare—deepening inequality & shrinking access.

In a new brief, @ehaspel.bsky.social outlines how public tools can shift power back to families & communities. #fixingchildcare rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Lydia Kiesling @lydiakiesling.bsky.social · Jun 24

It's refreshing that these people aren't using a pretext of concern over the program's rollout to scuttle it. The move is transparently about the wishes of the very wealthy over the will of the voters. You can dislike Preschool for All & still see that this is bad: actionnetwork.org/letters/no-o...

NO ON SB106

Late at night on June 24, the Senate Finance Committee requested a last-minute amendment to S.B. 106, specifically written to kill Preschool for All. You can read reporting about this wildly undemocra...

actionnetwork.org

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Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Jun 24

In Oregon, the Democratic governor and Dem state senators are trying a cloak-and-dagger maneuver in the final days of session to pre-empt a locality (Portland area) from collecting a tax that its voters overwhelmingly passed to support universal pre-K.

familyfrontier.substack.com/p/oregon-is-...

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Reposted by Elliot Haspel

Sarah Yergeau @sarahyergeau.bsky.social · Jun 24

"How can anyone or any organization that claims to have the backs of children and families do anything but be in full-throated opposition to this bill?...it’s a matter of this is a terrible piece of legislation that will do enormous harm" the latest from @ehaspel.bsky.social

It's OK to Call a Bad Bill a Bad Bill

You do not in fact 'gotta hand it' to the GOP for putting in a few not-awful tax bill provisions

substack.com

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