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Challenge

Knowing that access to high-quality early learning opportunities is uneven in the City of Philadelphia, practitioners, policy makers, lenders, and parents needed a way to identify gaps in access so that they could address them. High-quality early learning experiences support positive child development and prepare children for success in school and beyond. Access to quality child care is especially critical for low- and moderate-income families, allowing parents to maintain employment while also giving their kids a strong foundation.

Solution

To identify gaps in child care access in Philadelphia, the William Penn Foundation supported an analysis of existing child care services and childcare demand using locally available data. The results of the analysis were put on a PolicyMap Integrated Mapping Tool, along with other helpful indicators showing the number of young children and existing childcare resources, like certified and uncertified child care centers, and Head Start centers. The tool also uses other data to show potential locations for new or expanded child care facilities, like previously certified centers and for-sale school district buildings. This gave providers a tool for siting new child care centers, gave investors and policy makers a tool for targeting resources to increase high-quality child care access, and gave parents a tool for finding high-quality child care centers near where they live and work. You can check out Childcare Map at their website. Photo credit: Reinvestment Fund