Parents Flood Virginia General Assembly to Advocate More for Early Childhood Care Options and Access

Kaila Brewer, a Chesapeake mother and special education teacher, had to leave her job during the COVID-19 pandemic to care for her five-year-old son, who is autistic. Child care services were scarce at the time, and the few available could not accommodate her child’s special needs.

“It was extremely disheartening … I felt like my child was unwanted or pushed aside,” Brewer said.

That experience spurred her to advocate alongside other parents and supporters at the state Capitol on Wednesday and urge lawmakers to expand early childhood care options. The group addressed the urgent demand for high-quality child care and pressed for the state to increase child care investments to benefit more families.

House Speaker Don Scott and Del. Adele McClure join parents and advocates for early childhood and access for a gathering in Richmond on Jan. 21, 2026. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

A recent survey found that 65% of Virginia employers said their workers struggle to find open child care slots, and more than 85% cited cost as a major burden for their employees.

In statewide survey, employers say Virginia child care crisis negatively impacts businesses

During the pandemic, the federal government distributed relief funds to states, including Virginia, to stabilize child care providers, expand subsidy programs, and increase access.

But after the funds expired in 2023, a gap was left for the commonwealth to fill.

Lawmakers and then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin responded by investing nearly $1 billion in child care.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said lawmakers invested around $900 million in child care over the past two budget cycles during a meeting with parents Wednesday morning. He also proposed successful legislation that made the commonwealth the first to create a child care reimbursement program for his colleagues in the House.

“I understand how important early child care is,” Scott said. “If I’m not known for anything else when I leave this job as speaker, it would be that we have done everything that we can to make child care more affordable and more accessible in the commonwealth.”

Still, advocates are asking lawmakers to go further to make child care more accessible.

The Virginia Promise Partnership, a coalition of organizations advocating for fully funding high-quality child care, is requesting a state investment of $681 million in the 2027-2028 biennial budget. The partnership said this will help meet families’ needs, compensate educators, keep classrooms open and incentivize employers to support employees’ child care needs.

Tomashia Cornitcher, a parent and Family Connections for Kids First Years coordinator, said her family benefited from early childhood education. She’s now working with other parents to have the same opportunities.

“We are grateful for our representatives,” Cornitcher said. “However, we are still in dire need because that investment helped us prevent families from losing services, but did not extend access to more families who are on the wait list.”

VPM News reported last October that nearly 14,000 children were on a wait list for the Child Care Subsidy Program alone.

Ryan O’Tooole, co-executive of Freedom Virginia, a coalition member, said another key priority is paying quality teachers fairly.

“If a child is in a child care program, those teachers are teaching,” O’Toole said. “It is not babysitting or caring until the parent comes home, but it’s early education that is crucial to a child’s development and having a successful system that can promote economic mobility, that can promote economic stability, that helps businesses keep their employees. All of that only works if we have those providers.”

In addition to the child care challenges low-income families face, Cornitcher also said middle-class families are feeling the financial pinch. She said in some cases, families earn too much to qualify for free or low-cost early childhood education, and too little to afford private options.

Advocates are backing legislative proposals aligned with Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s plan, which underscores expanding access and strengthening the early child care workforce as the pathway for a stronger, more inclusive system.

Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, and Del. Adele McClure, D-Arlington, are carrying a proposal to create the Employee Child Care Assistance Program, which would allow employers to receive state matching funds to help pay for an employee’s child care.

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, and Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William, filed bills to expand Virginia’s Child Care Subsidy Program so more families qualify based on income.

The proposal directs the Virginia Department of Education to create a phased reduction for the Child Care Subsidy Program, so aid decreases gradually as families earn more.

Del. Jackie Glass, D-Norfolk, along with Locke, is also carrying legislation that would make child care subsidies decline more gradually as families earn more, rather than drop off abruptly.

Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, told the Mercury he supports Glass’ legislation and wants to build on the commonwealth’s progress.

“We are ahead, and we will stay ahead,” Cherry said. “We want to continue to innovate … and continue looking at what we’re doing — how do we encourage people to upskill, how do we encourage people to make more money, to be more self-sufficient, to not need the subsidies? … It’s by providing them that safety net as they climb that corporate ladder, to be the resources for them, to encourage them to be better and to do more.”

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

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