Child Care Matters: Built to Break is a new narrative podcast from BridgeCare that shines a light on America’s early education system and what it will take to rebuild it. Across eight episodes, host and CEO of BridgeCare, Jamee Herbert, speaks with industry experts, parents, and providers to unpack how this system of systems has reached a breaking point. 

From outdated regulations and workforce shortages to funding gaps and technology barriers, each episode explores a piece of a system that touches nearly every family, yet remains deeply misunderstood. We’ll move from what’s broken to what’s possible, spotlighting the people and ideas driving real change.

The child care system in America touches every working family, but it often feels impossible to navigate. In the first episode of Child Care Matters: Built To Break, host Jamee Herbert, CEO of BridgeCare, asks the most basic question that many parents are asking themselves right now: why is it so hard to find high-quality, affordable child care?

In this episode you’ll find out why opening and running a child care program can feel like a maze of regulation, why the market is being run as a private market and the friction that causes, and how the emotional toll that comes with finding reliable child care can be a significant burden for families. 

This isn’t just an inefficient system; it’s one that’s being stretched to its breaking point. This podcast will shed more light on how we got here and what we can do to fix it. 

In this episode: 

Wendy Doyle — President & CEO of United WE. 

Simon Workman — Co-founder & Principal, Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies

Sonja Castañeda-Cudney — Parent (Los Angeles)

Child Care Matters: Built to Break examines America’s early childhood system from the perspectives of parents, providers, and experts, one piece of the puzzle at a time.If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who’s navigating child care right now, and follow the show so you don’t miss the next chapter of the series. For more information, go to getbridgecare.com

In Episode 2 of Child Care Matters: Built to Break, host Jamee Herbert, CEO of BridgeCare, follows the money through our early education system, from the complex mix of local, state, and federal funding streams to hopeful innovations being piloted.

You’ll hear why the market rate for child care doesn’t actually reflect what quality care costs, and how that gap creates a dynamic that is unaffordable for families and unsustainable for providers. 

This isn’t just a confusing funding model, it’s one that keeps forcing parents and providers to absorb the cost of a system that isn’t sustainable. And if nothing changes, more programs will close, leaving families with even fewer options.

In this episode: 

Simon Workman — Co-founder & Principal, Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies

Erica Phillips  - Executive Director of The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) 

Benu Chhabra - CEO of Benu’s Preschool 

Child Care Matters: Built to Break examines America’s early childhood system from the perspectives of parents, providers, and experts, one piece of the puzzle at a time. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who’s navigating child care right now, and follow the show so you don’t miss the next chapter of the series. For more information go to getbridgecare.com.

In Episode 3 of Child Care Matters: Built to Break, host Jamee Herbert, CEO of BridgeCare, looks beyond funding and into the day-to-day reality of what it takes to open a program, keep it compliant, and maintain quality staff. 

You’ll hear how licensing, zoning, and inspection requirements create expensive, inconsistent barriers providers have to navigate and why one day with a sick team member can force a closure that throws families into chaos.

In this episode:

• Benu Chhabra — Early childhood educator and advocate
• Wendy Doyle — President & CEO, United WE
• Sarah Rittling — Executive Director, First Five Years Fund

Child Care Matters: Built to Break examines America’s early childhood system from the perspectives of parents, providers, and experts—one piece of the puzzle at a time. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone navigating child care right now, and follow the show so you don’t miss the next chapter of the series. For more information, go to getbridgecare.com.

You’ll also hear how well-intentioned policies can create unintended consequences for families and providers, and how disjointed regulations can make it harder for child care providers to do their jobs. We showcase one state that’s finding a way to improve the lives of families, and through well-planned child care policy and legislation, is making a difference for its residents. 

In this episode:

Rep. Kate Farrar — Connecticut State Representative

Erica Phillips — Executive Director, National Association for Family Child Care

Sarah Rittling — Executive Director, First Five Years Fund

Child Care Matters: Built to Break examines America’s early childhood system from the perspectives of parents, providers, and experts, one piece of the puzzle at a time. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone working to improve child care in their community, and follow the show so you don’t miss the next chapter of the series. For more information, go to getbridgecare.com.

Throughout this episode, we explore how the fragmented child care system leaves everyone “flying blind.” We also look at why the lack of data on availability, cost, and eligibility causes critical delays for parents and makes it more challenging for policymakers to make informed decisions.

In this episode:

Sonja Castañeda-Cudney — Parent

Simon Workman — Co-founder & Principal, Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies

Sabina Andersson — Colorado Department of Early Childhood

Sarah Rittling — Executive Director, First Five Years Fund

Child Care Matters: Built to Break examines America’s early childhood system from the perspectives of parents, providers, and experts, one piece of the puzzle at a time. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone working to improve child care in their community, and follow the show so you don’t miss the next chapter of the series. For more information, go to getbridgecare.com.

In this episode, we examine why the concept of “quality child care” is so contested in ECE in America. We also investigate how it’s defined, measured and rated in the US, and why even well-intentioned quality rating systems can create unintended consequences for child care providers.

In this episode:

• Sonja Castañeda-Cudney — Parent (Los Angeles)
• Sarah Rittling — Executive Director, First Five Years Fund
• Wendy Doyle — President & CEO of United WE.
• Keller-Anne Ruble — Solutions Architect, BridgeCare
• Simon Workman — Co-founder & Principal, Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies
• Erica Phillips - Executive Director of The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)

Child Care Matters: Built to Break examines America’s early childhood system from the perspectives of parents, providers, and experts,  one piece of the puzzle at a time. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone navigating child care or working to improve it in their community, and follow the show so you don’t miss the next chapter of the series. For more information, go to getbridgecare.com.

Throughout this episode, we look at how the breakdown of the US child care system has ripple effects far beyond just individual families, we examine how insufficient child care harms local economies, and we put a dollar amount on what that could mean for the country as a whole. 

In this episode:

Wendy Doyle — President & CEO, United WE

Sarah Rittling — Executive Director, First Five Years Fund

Simon Workman — Co-founder & Principal, Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies

Rep. Kate Farrar — Connecticut State Representative

Child Care Matters: Built to Break examines America's early childhood system from the perspectives of parents, providers, and experts, one piece of the puzzle at a time. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone working to improve child care in their community, and follow the show so you don't miss the next chapter of the series. For more information, go to getbridgecare.com.