Home Grown celebrates the Council of Economic Advisers brief, Child Care Is Infrastructure: Evidence from Universal Pre-K. For over 3 years we have invested in research that highlights the importance of including Family Child Care (FCC) in public pre-K systems. Family child care supports millions of underserved families with flexible, culturally responsive care—essential for equity and access. Yet, only 8 out of 75 large cities and 24 states include FCC in public pre-K. That’s why Home Grown is excited to be working with NIEER this fall to support a cohort of public pre-K systems with targeted TA and evidence-based tools to modify their pre-K systems to include FCC.
Home Grown’s Statement on the Council of Economic Advisers Brief: Child Care Is Infrastructure—Evidence from Universal Pre-K
Alexandra R. Patterson is an accomplished early childhood policy and strategy leader who brings deep expertise in navigating the complex policy and programmatic landscape that shapes equitable access to high-quality care. As Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Home Grown, she leads cross-sector initiatives that integrate research, systems change, and advocacy, translating data and community insight into actionable policy solutions for home-based child care providers. With a strong foundation in public program administration—most notably overseeing the implementation and policy alignment of Philadelphia’s $30+ million PHLpreK initiative—Alexandra has consistently driven large-scale efforts that balance fiscal accountability, regulatory compliance, and community impact. Her passion for early childhood stems from the strongly held belief that access to quality education for all is a social justice issue. Alexandra holds a Master of Science in Education from Bank Street College of Education and a Grassroots Advocacy and Lobbying Professional Certificate from the University of Richmond.
As we commemorate Juneteenth, the field of early childhood education has an opportunity to reflect on the enduring relationship between Black women’s caregiving labor and the American social economy.
Al conmemorar Juneteenth, el sector de la educación infantil temprana tiene la oportunidad de reflexionar sobre la relación perdurable entre la labor de cuidado realizada por mujeres negras y la economía social estadounidense.
After a YouTuber posted a video claiming that Minnesota child care centers receiving public funding were not providing services to children, the federal government froze child care funding for five majority-Democratic states.