Consistent access to high-quality and affordable child care is an ongoing concern for many parents in the United States. Even those with sufficient economic resources still can be quite focused on finding and maintaining the best care for their child that is compatible with their family circumstances. Parents at the lower end of the economic scale frequently are faced with substantial challenges. When balancing quality and affordable child care with low-wage work, these challenges can be overwhelming. Parents are not the only ones affected, of course. The quality of child care has a direct impact on the well-being and development of the child.

Despite this widespread need by numerous parents and their young children, there is currently little momentum in building robust systems of child care. Given the resonance of the issue to such a widespread constituency, it is quizzical that inertia continues. Why? What would it take to instigate an effort to address the limitations of child care? These are the questions Elizabeth Palley and Corey S. Shdaimah address by aiming to untangle the many reasons a cohesive national policy regarding child care has been elusive.

The authors utilize evidence from several sources. They report data collected from qualitative interviews with policy stakeholders, examine legislative testimony, and provide substantial detail a