Across the country, child care has had major victories and major setbacks in recent weeks.

To get you up to speed:

• The New York Times reported on Wednesday that New York City is losing $70 million in federal funding that goes towards the Head Start program. This program serves 800,000 children from low-income households nationwide, and in New York City, families are enrolled for free. While Head Start Programs will not be forced to close immediately, the loss of funding adds to an already dire landscape for child care, and local providers said the move “highlighted an urgent need for New York’s elected officials to deepen their investments in early childhood education.
  

In stark contrast to New York, New Mexico has become the first state to adopt free child care for all.

• “Child care is essential to family stability, workforce participation, and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told The Guardian. “By investing in universal child care, we are giving families financial relief, supporting our economy, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”

So, what do we learn from these two wildly different bits of news?

Care is a choice. These two scenarios serve as a reminder that we have the opportunity to create a childcare system that ensures quality care for our children, values families and their opportunities to thrive, and supports the economy.

We just need to care enough to make it happen.