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Washington launches year‑long exploration of early care facilities, seeks provider input
Summary
A DCYF‑led project will map facility needs, catalog past investments and convene a multi‑stakeholder work group to produce an implementation plan by May 2026; providers urged to sign up for regionally focused work groups and interviews.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families and Burke Consulting this week outlined a new Early Care and Education Facilities Exploration Project aimed at identifying what supports—beyond grant dollars—are needed to open, expand or convert spaces for child care across Washington.
The project will inventory prior investments and policy work, complete a literature review of possible solutions and convene a facilities work group that will meet through spring 2026. Allegra Calder, project manager at Burke Consulting, said the consultants are “working towards a final implementation plan for May of 2026” and that the team is still in an early research phase and seeking broad input from providers and technical experts.
Why it matters: state leaders and the early learning community have identified facilities as a recurring barrier to expanding access to affordable child care. The project will aim to surface practical, local solutions—such as…
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