Overview

Presented at the 2026 National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) National Annual Conference, this slide deck highlights findings from CELFE's WeVision Early Ed partnership with the Bainum Family Foundation on the cost drivers that support high-quality family child care. The presentation explores how budget deep dives and cost estimation studies can help policymakers better understand the true cost of quality care and inform strategic funding decisions.

The deck examines how cost models can support subsidy rate-setting, strengthen provider compensation, and identify the investments needed to sustain high-quality family child care while engaging providers throughout the cost modeling process. It also shares key findings from a multi-state cost estimation study and outlines considerations for policymakers working to build stronger, more equitable early childhood systems.