Report on Childcare as Essential Social Infrastructure for Sustainable Development

Executive Summary

This report analyzes the function of childcare, arguing that its value extends far beyond its commonly cited role as an economic enabler. Framing childcare solely as a support for the workforce overlooks its critical function as social infrastructure, which is essential for achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An overemphasis on the economic case risks the corporatization of the sector, potentially undermining the community-building and social cohesion benefits that quality childcare provides. The report concludes that for childcare systems to be truly effective and sustainable, they must be recognized and funded as a public good, akin to libraries and schools, contributing directly to family well-being, community resilience, and social equity.

The Limitations of the “Workforce Behind the Workforce” Narrative

A bipartisan consensus has emerged that frames childcare as a critical component for labor force participation. While factually correct, this perspective is limiting. It reduces childcare to an instrumental economic input, ignoring its profound social benefits and creating a rationale that favors market-based, commodified solutions over community-centric models.

Consequences of a Narrow Economic Focus

• Commodification of Care: Viewing childcare primarily as a service to enable work invites large, for-profit entities whose business models are often misaligned with the goals of universal, high-quality, community-integrated care.
• Erosion of Public Good Status: If childcare’s sole purpose is to facilitate employment, it can be argued that it is a private responsibility, similar to commuting costs, rather than a public good deserving of significant public investment.
• Neglect of Quality and Community Integration: An economic framework prioritizes the quantity of available slots over the quality of the programs, the professional development of educators, and the deep community ties that local centers foster.

Childcare as a Catalyst for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

A comprehensive valuation of childcare reveals its direct and indirect contributions to numerous SDGs. It functions as a foundational service that promotes health, equality, and sustainable communities.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

Childcare services are a powerful antidote to the rising epidemic of social isolation and loneliness, particularly among parents of young children. By creating hubs for connection, childcare centers directly enhance mental and emotional well-being.

• Combating Parental Loneliness: Research indicates that a majority of parents report feelings of social disconnection. Childcare centers serve as effective platforms for parents to build social networks, with studies showing over 40% of mothers forming multiple friendships through their child’s center.
• Providing Family Stability: Educators often act as a crucial support system, offering emotional guidance and connecting families to essential resources during times of upheaval, thereby preventing crises and promoting stable environments for child development.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Childcare is a vital piece of social infrastructure that strengthens community resilience and cohesion.

• Anchoring Families in Communities: The scarcity of affordable childcare can force families to relocate, disrupting community ties. Accessible local childcare allows families to remain rooted, contributing to neighborhood stability.
• Enhancing Disaster Response: As demonstrated in cases of wildfires, childcare networks can play a key role in community-level disaster relief by tracking displaced families, coordinating resources, and providing a center of command and support.

SDG 4, 5, 8, and 10: Education, Equality, and Economic Opportunity

Accessible, high-quality childcare is an integrated solution that advances goals related to quality education, gender equality, decent work, and reduced inequalities.

1. SDG 4 (Quality Education): Childcare is the first stage of formal education, providing foundational learning and social development. It is critical for identifying and supporting children with learning challenges early on.
2. SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The provision of childcare is a primary enabler of women’s participation in the workforce, public life, and higher education, addressing a key structural barrier to gender equality.
3. SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): Beyond enabling parental employment, the childcare sector itself must provide decent work. Addressing the high staff turnover and low compensation common in the sector is essential for building a stable, high-quality system.
4. SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Publicly supported, universal childcare ensures that all children, regardless of socioeconomic background, have access to the same developmental opportunities, directly reducing inequality from the earliest years of life.

Conclusion: A Call for a Paradigm Shift

The prevailing economic argument for childcare, while valid, is insufficient. To build a childcare system that American families need and deserve, a new narrative is required. This narrative must position childcare as essential social infrastructure, integral to community well-being and the achievement of broad sustainable development objectives.

Recommendations

• Advocate for childcare using a values-based framework that emphasizes its role in supporting families, building community, and fostering social cohesion.
• Prioritize public and community-based models over for-profit, market-driven solutions to ensure that care remains centered on the needs of children and families, not shareholders.
• Structure public funding for childcare as an investment in a public good, similar to schools, libraries, and parks, to ensure its stability, quality, and universal accessibility.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • The article directly addresses mental well-being by highlighting the “epidemic of loneliness” among parents, as described by former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy. It posits that childcare centers can improve “material and mental well-being” by fostering social connections and reducing isolation.
2. SDG 4: Quality Education
   • The article’s core subject is childcare, which is a fundamental component of early childhood development and education. It discusses the importance of “excellent programs with well-compensated, trained, reliable educators” and references a personal story where preschool teachers were crucial for a child struggling with learning disabilities.
3. SDG 5: Gender Equality
   • While not the main focus, the article implicitly connects to gender equality. The economic argument for childcare as the “workforce behind the workforce” often relates to enabling women’s labor force participation. The example of Qweyonoh Parker, a mother who may have to “sideline my career,” illustrates the disproportionate impact the lack of childcare has on women.
4. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
   • The article begins by acknowledging the common argument that childcare supports the economy by allowing parents to work. It also touches upon the working conditions within the sector itself, noting issues of “high staff turnover,” which points to a lack of decent work for childcare providers.
5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
   • The article critiques “overly means-tested, technocratic policies” and contrasts them with proposals for “universal, tax-funded, free-at-the-point-of-service childcare.” This directly addresses the goal of reducing inequality in access to essential services.
6. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • A central theme of the article is that childcare is “social infrastructure,” akin to “schools, libraries, and parks.” It argues that childcare helps keep families “rooted in their communities” and can even play a role in “disaster relief efforts,” thereby contributing to community resilience and sustainability.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
   • The article connects to this target by framing childcare as a solution to the “epidemic of loneliness” and a way to improve parents’ “mental well-being.” The study by Mario Luis Small, which found childcare centers help mothers form friendships, directly supports the promotion of mental health.
2. Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
   • This target is central to the article. The entire discussion revolves around the provision of childcare. The emphasis on avoiding “corporatization” and cultivating “excellent programs with well-compensated, trained, reliable educators” speaks directly to the ‘quality’ aspect of this target.
3. Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
   • The article advocates for childcare as a public service and “social infrastructure.” This directly aligns with the target’s call to provide public services to recognize and reduce the burden of unpaid care work, which allows parents (often mothers) like Qweyonoh Parker to pursue a career without going into debt.
4. Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
   • The “workforce behind the workforce” argument directly links childcare availability to enabling “full and productive employment” for parents. Furthermore, the mention of “high staff turnover” and the need for “well-compensated” educators addresses the decent work aspect for those employed in the childcare sector.
5. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
   • The article’s support for “universal” and “free-at-the-point-of-service” childcare over “means-tested” policies is a direct call for a system that promotes inclusion regardless of economic status, ensuring all families can access this essential service.
6. Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
   • The article explicitly defines childcare as an “essential piece of social infrastructure” and a basic service. The story of the mother considering moving because she “cannot see a path that allows me to work and raise my children in Minnesota” highlights how a lack of this basic service can impact where families can live.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Prevalence of loneliness among parents: The article explicitly states that a survey found “two-thirds of parents reporting feeling socially disconnected.” This is a direct indicator for measuring mental well-being (Target 3.4).
2. Social network formation in childcare centers: The article cites a study where “about 60% made at least one friend, and more than 40% made three or more friends in centers.” This provides a quantifiable metric for the community-building function of childcare (Target 3.4 and 11.7).
3. Availability of childcare slots: The article mentions the importance of the “availability of slots” as a reason parents struggle, implying this is a key metric for access (Target 4.2).
4. Staff turnover rate: The article explicitly mentions “high staff turnover” as a major strain on the childcare system. This is a direct indicator of the lack of decent work in the sector (Target 8.5).
5. Labor force participation of parents: The entire “workforce behind the workforce” argument implies that the labor force participation rate of parents, especially mothers, is a key indicator of the economic impact of childcare (Target 5.4 and 8.5).
6. Family migration due to childcare scarcity: The story of the mother “seriously considering moving” implies that family retention or migration rates linked to childcare availability could be an indicator of community stability (Target 11.1).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: jacobin.com