One measure tied to President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, known as the reconciliation package, could totally transform child care and early education in this country, ensuring that it is affordable and accessible for all families. Host Gloria Riviera returns for a conversation with Neighborhood Villages’ co-founders, Lauren Birchfield Kennedy and Sarah Muncey, to better understand what’s truly at stake and what you can do to help get this legislation over the finish line.

Neighborhood Villages was thrilled to host Congresswoman Pressley at our Neighborhood partner, Ellis Early Learning Center, to shine a spotlight on the child care crisis and how President Biden’s Build Back Better legislation could bring transformative change to families across the country. Most importantly, it was an opportunity to hear directly from the parents and educators most impacted by the crisis.

We are witnessing a long-in-the-making crisis in early education and child care – for providers and for families – that hinges on workforce. We can’t afford to wait any longer to address it. That’s why Neighborhood Villages partnered with Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and Boston-area community colleges to start Career Pathways for Early Educators, a unique program that supports educators in their attainment of advanced early education and care credentials.

Starting July 15, most families will be eligible to begin receiving monthly payments – known as Child Tax Credits – from the federal government. We at Neighborhood Villages have applauded this child tax credit expansion because it is an immediate tool that families can use to help with the costs of raising a child – especially the exorbitant price of child care.

The early episodes of the series No One is Coming to Save Us laid bare the utter disaster that is America’s early education and child care system. It all paints a pretty dark picture. If no one is coming to save us, how do we save ourselves? The fourth and final episode digs into what’s possible by showcasing how people across the country are fighting for change — and winning — in their own communities. Even better: it lays out simple steps for how you can get involved in the child care revolution.

In “Good Child Care *Can* Work” host Gloria Riviera begins by speaking to Charles and Caitlin Vestal, an American couple who moved from Portland, Oregon to Berlin, Germany – and how they plan to stay there because early education for their son is FREE. If that seems crazy, it gets even better: in Berlin, every neighborhood has at least one child and family center that offers full wraparound services for parents, including therapy, unemployment resources, food support, and more.