Kudos to The Sun for shedding light on the shortage of high-quality, affordable child care ("Day care shortage frustrates parents in Baltimore," July 14). It's a challenging situation, and parents can take constructive steps to improve the status quo. They can join those of us who are advocating greater public investment in early care and education.
Maryland Family Network maintains an active lobbying presence on the State and federal levels. We work for universal access to publicly funded pre-K, more funding for training and technical assistance to help improve the quality of child care, adequate funding for the Child Care Subsidy Program, and expansion of the state's community hubs that address child care needs in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
In the meantime, our free "LOCATE" service is available to help parents navigate the child care system and find the care that best fits their needs. Parents can call 877-261-0060 for individual service or conduct a self-guided search online at marylandfamilynetwork.org.
It may surprise some to learn that Maryland is considered one of the best states for child care and advocacy efforts have gotten us this far. If more struggling parents add their voices to ours, we can win the investments our youngest children need and deserve.
Margaret E. Williams, Baltimore
The writer is executive director of Maryland Family Network.