Every high-income country in the world has a paid maternity leave policy — except the US. Most have a paternity leave policy, too. And, usually, some form of universal or subsidized child care for all families. The United States has … none of these policies.
Why the US doesn’t have universal child care (anymore)
Other rich countries have family policies the US doesn’t.
It did have federally funded child care once. And Congress even passed a universal child care policy in the ’70s. But today, the US is stuck on a policy path of welfare and tax credits. So why hasn’t the US been able to establish these common family policies?
Further reading:
- “The Promise of Preschool” is a great dive into the history of child care policy in the US.
- Anna Danziger Halperin’s research on the US and UK policies.
- The OECD has put together profiles on almost every rich country and their child policies. Look up yours.
- UNICEF put together a great report on where rich countries stand with child care policies. The US is number 40 — out of 41.
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