Early childhood education programs are closing at an alarming rate. In the 23-county region served by 4C, there has been a loss of more than 3,000 spaces in child care centers since January. I could view this very theoretically—and it would make sense: Supply and demand. Unemployment is up, the need for child care is down.

But there is more than meets the eye. Working parents are finding lower cost, informal options—friends or relatives who themselves are out of work. Many parents have reduced hours or reduced pay, and full-time child care no longer meets their needs.

Ohio and Kentucky have invested millions of dollars to improve early childhood education because of the enormous benefits of high-quality early learning. The loss of these programs represents a set-back for school readiness. Informal child care providers do not have access to training, are not held to safety standards and often provide little continuity of care, with children bouncing from one caregiver to another.

I hope we—child and family advocates, policy-makers, funders and families—will work hard to preserve the gains in quality during these tough economic times so that when the economy improves, the foundation will still be in place to build a world-class early childhood education system for all children.