Option piece: Minnesota's child care crisis is government-made

Access to high-quality affordable child care is fundamental to a well-functioning economy. It also enables parents to stay in the workforce, which allows businesses to find workers. And high-quality child care also readies children for school.

Unfortunately, the child care system in Minnesota has been broken for a long time. Middle-income and low-income parents are being squeezed by sky-high prices as they try to afford child care — that is, if they do not exit the workforce altogether. And when parents cannot work, businesses cannot find workers, which is a loss to our economy. Read more.

Response Letters Printed by Star Tribune: 

Having spent most of my adult life working with infants in many settings, training infant caregivers and directing a child care center, I felt a need to respond to the opinion piece by Martha Njolomole about the cost of infant care in Minnesota ("Minnesota's child care crisis is government-made," Opinion Exchange, Aug. 1). The ratio of four infants to one caregiver is the maximum to allow for quality care. The National Association for the Education of Young Children states this as one of the limits for quality. Higher than that will push infant care back to the days of placing babies in containers for most of their day. Read more.