Child care is getting in the way of work
Help parents find care that fits the hours they actually work.
- Place
- Baltimore City
- Topic
- Children and families
- Status
- Ideas awaiting local testing
- Sources reviewed
- November 5, 2026
What the evidence shows
Baltimore’s 2025 early childhood landscape analysis describes child care disrupting work and education among families in the Baltimore Young Families Success Fund study. This is evidence from that study, not a measure of every family in the city.
Possible solutions to test
These are MD Eagles proposals, not projects already operating. Test the need with residents and existing services before building.
An employer and provider care pilot
Bring a local employer and a licensed child care provider together to test whether a small block of funded care hours fits parents’ shifts. Establish staffing, licensing and costs with the provider before offering places.
A practical care search service
Help families use existing referral services, record where the search breaks down, and share verified availability with permission. Build a new tool only if existing services cannot address the gap.
Your first step
Speak with five parents about the last time care disrupted work. Ask whether cost, opening hours, location or availability was the deciding barrier. Do not assume all four need the same solution.
Who to involve
Parents, licensed providers and an employer in one Baltimore neighborhood.
What to measure
Whether participating parents find suitable care and report fewer shifts missed because of care.
Build on what already exists
Start by learning from Maryland Family Network’s LOCATE service. Ask what they already provide and what remains difficult. No partnership is implied.
Facing this yourself? Find an existing service in the resource guides.
Take this brief with you
Download the project worksheet (plain text)
Use it to record local evidence, collaborators, costs and a small test before committing to a larger project.