The History of Child Care

At Child Care Aware^® of America, our vision is that all families will have access to equitable, high-quality, affordable child care. In order to reach that vision, it’s important to understand the complex history of child care in the United States. So, we created a timeline of child care —from its beginnings when enslaved African women cared for owners’ children all the way up through 2021.

Explore and share the child care milestone infographic below.