The debate over daycare regulation

and why I think Idaho can tell us a lot about the future of child care under Trump

Earlier this year Idaho proposed becoming the first state in the nation to abolish state child-staff ratios in daycare, a major deregulatory move for what is already one of the least regulated states. The bill authors said they wanted to make it easier for people to open up home-day cares, which are less expensive to run and less expensive to attend.

It’s part of a broader push we’re seeing nationally where conservatives say it’s time to let market forces solve what government subsidies haven’t. They lament that costs keep going up, and that child care subsidies largely steer clear from home-based programs, — the kind many rural and low-income parents of color say they’re more interested in using.

Liberal protest — rooted in the belief that there is no path to affordable child care without more public investment — has only fueled their determination.

Idaho’s legislature—now at its most conservative point in history after many moderate Republicans lost their 2024 primary challenges—has positioned itself as the laboratory for a new conservative vision of America. As Governor Brad Little boasted while celebrating the elimination of thousands of state regulations, “Idaho was ‘DOGE’ before DOGE was cool.

In late March, the Trump administration tapped Alex Adams, Idaho's Director of Health and Welfare—the same agency overseeing child care rules and licensing—to lead the Administration for Children and Families in the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

I traveled to Idaho last month to report this story, filed public records requests, and spoke with parents, child care providers, and the lawmakers behind the bill.

This one quote I received from a local lobbyist working on the bill I think was particularly illustrative: “The entire business model of child care is focused on preschools, when what people really want is tía Maria’s house down the street, with a sandbox, and a snack, and a loving grandmother who can take care of four or five kids at the same time. The person who figures out that business model is going to make a billion dollars.”

You may have seen the news recently that the Trump administration is proposing to gut funding for Head Start, the federal preschool program that serves nearly 800,000 low-income children. That was also encouraged in the Project 2025 agenda, which argued that public funding should either pay parents to stay home or be directed to “familial, in-home child care.” If a parent cannot stay home to raise their child themselves, then less formal home-based day cares are the next best option.

States all over the country are dealing with labor shortages, and they know that child care is a huge part of their workforce challenge. The debate over deregulation isn’t just about cutting red tape. It’s about a new vision for child care — one that prioritizes less expensive home-based programs, de-emphasizes professional credentials and academic curricula, and backs more mothers staying home to raise their children.

I think this is a big story, and you can read the full article here.