Overview
Like their peers living in urban and suburban areas, young children in rural communities deserve high-quality early education, and their families deserve reliable child care that allows them to work or pursue an education.
Unfortunately, while many rural child care providers offer safe and nurturing care to families in their communities despite having fewer resources and supports, the availability of child care in rural communities is also more limited than in suburban and urban communities, especially for children with developmental delays and disabilities. Structural issues with the way New York State funds child care assistance also reduce the ability of low- and moderate-income families to access care in these communities.
This joint report issued by The Children’s Agenda and Liftoff WNY is intended to take a comprehensive look at the strengths and challenges facing families and child care providers in rural parts of Western New York and make recommendations for how local and state-level policymakers can strengthen that system to better meet the needs of these communities.