AISJ's Op-Ed: Alabama policymakers must fix childcare and start with adequate funding
By Lenice Emanuel | Executive Director of the Alabama Institute for Social Justice
Published on AL.COM 1/11/2023 - This is a guest opinion.

As the product of quality childcare, I understand just how much it can positively affect the trajectory of a person’s life. Which is why it saddens me to see how much Alabama is failing at supporting those charged with educating our youngest minds and most precious resource - children.

Unfortunately, Alabama is failing at adequately funding early childhood education programs, and this is depriving children of the education they deserve and need. The lack of investment is also fueling a childcare crisis that will adversely affect the educational and economic opportunities of children, childcare workers, and families. To ensure brighter futures for the next generation, policymakers must fix the childcare crisis, and they can start by adequately funding it.

About The Alabama Institute for Social Justice: The Alabama Institute for Social Justice (AISJ) works strategically to remove barriers that particularly limit and/or undermine the economic well-being of women and people of color. To learn more about the organization, please visit http://alisj.org/.