Quick note: Before we dig into our main topic this week, let me say this: we read every single story you submit to us. And they truly change everything.
We often ask you to share your stories. Some stories bring us to tears. Some make us wonder, how is she managing all of this? Some fire us up with protective big sister energy. But none of them sit in a folder collecting dust. Your stories fuel meetings with policymakers, shape how the media covers motherhood, and remind the world that this fight is urgent and real.
Just ask Meghan Montelibano-Gorman. She shared her experience with us last month — and now her story is featured in USA Today.
That’s the power of your voice. It doesn’t just echo among moms who whisper “me too.” It changes the narrative, drives culture shifts, and pushes policy forward.
Have a Story to Share About After-School Care?
Right now, with the start of the school year, so many parents are scrambling to find after-school care. The school day ends before 3 pm, but most jobs still run to 5 pm. What are parents supposed to do? A journalist is working on a story this week and wants to hear directly from a mom in our community.
Together, we’re not just telling stories. We’re changing the story of motherhood in America.
Now, let’s get to this week’s edition of The First Word…
The Ripple Effect: How State Fights Create National Change
The biggest change doesn’t start on Capitol Hill. It starts in the rooms you’ll never see.
Right now, one of those rooms is in New Jersey. Moms First alongside other local child care advocates has been in the trenches there — pulling in the business community, working with organizations and funders, and putting child care on the agenda — all ahead of a Governor’s race that will shape the future of the state.
If you’re not in New Jersey, why should you care? Because what happens in Trenton doesn’t stay in Trenton. State wins are the spark that ignites national change. Social Security was born out of Wisconsin. The Affordable Care Act started in Massachusetts. Even the Child Tax Credit expansion was seeded in state pilots.
States are the laboratories of democracy — and when we win there, we prove that change is possible everywhere.
A Case Study: New Jersey
Let me take you behind the curtain of our work in the Garden State.
Last fall, Moms First joined forces with leading advocacy groups and visionary funders like The Burke Foundation to launch the First 1,000 Days Policy Coalition. Its mission: to ensure child care and family policies are not just “nice-to-haves” but core to the state’s economic agenda.
Our work in New Jersey focuses on mobilizing the business community — forging partnerships and organizing events with corporations like Prudential Financial, Audible, L’Oréal, and PSEG. Together, we’re helping employers see what we’ve long known: child care isn’t just a perk for employees, it’s an economic engine.
Without child care, businesses lose workers. Communities lose growth. States lose billions.
In New Jersey, that loss amounts to $3.6 billion a year. Every time I share that figure, I see jaws drop. And here’s the thing: when business leaders see the data and realize they’re leaving billions on the table, child care suddenly becomes not only a family issue but a competitiveness issue. That reframes the whole debate.
And it works. Earlier this summer, Moms First sponsored a major business forum where both leading candidates for governor showed up. For the first time, child care appeared in the New Jersey Business and Industry Association’s Blueprint for a Competitive New Jersey, the policy roadmap that shapes the state’s future business priorities. We know it got the candidates’ attention — one of the gubernatorial candidates even cited our $3.6 billion stat in their remarks.
That’s not luck. That’s strategy.
And we’re not stopping there. Our COO, Molly Day, will be taking the stage at The Case for Affordable Child Care on September 22 in West Windsor, NJ, alongside an incredible lineup of advocates and experts. (If you’re local, you can register here.)
We’ll also be speaking at the Women Business Leaders Forum on September 17 — because corporate leaders aren’t just “nice-to-have” allies in this fight, they’re essential.
Think about it: most moms don’t interact with lawmakers on a daily basis, but they do interact with their employers. That means businesses have enormous power to either perpetuate the child care crisis or help solve it. Paid leave policies, flexible schedules, on-site child care partnerships — these aren’t just benefits, they’re lifelines that keep parents in the workforce.
And business leaders know it. More and more, companies are coming to Moms First for guidance on how to reimagine their policies to support families — asking us what works, how to implement it, and how to measure the return. They’re realizing what we’ve been saying all along: child care isn’t a “perk,” it’s infrastructure. It’s as essential to productivity as broadband or electricity.
From Local Playbooks to National Policy
If this all feels very tactical, it is. But don’t mistake “tactical” for “small.” The truth is, these state-level fights are how we win big at the national level.
Every national win was once a local experiment. Proof of concept matters. And let’s be real: it matters to voters, too. Lawmakers in Washington are a lot more willing to go to bat for an idea that has already won hearts and minds in their state.
So when we push child care onto the agenda in New Jersey, it doesn’t just help families there. It builds the case for families everywhere.
Why This Moment Matters
Elections sharpen the question of what kind of future we want to build.
In New Jersey, voters will soon decide who will lead their state for the next four years. Thanks to our coalition’s work, child care is finally part of that conversation.
And here’s a little teaser: we’re about to take this playbook across the Hudson River. Next week, Moms First will launch a campaign to make sure every New York City mayoral candidate is forced to answer one question: What are you going to do about the child care crisis?
If you’ve got friends in New York City, forward them this newsletter and make sure they sign up for The First Word. Trust me — you’re going to want to see what’s coming.
- Resource: Free Resources on Pregnancy and Parenting (ParentData)
- Resource: Appropriations Update on FY26 Funding Levels for Child Care and Early Learning Programs (First Five Years Fund)
- Mamdani’s Voters Want Free Child Care. Here’s How He Could Do It. (New York Times)
- Back-to-School Support for Working Parents: HR Strategies That Work (HR Morning)
I know this first week of September is hectic for everyone, so I’m grateful you took a moment to follow along with me this week. Remember that New Jersey is just one state’s story — but it can spark national change. Together, we’ll make it happen.
More to come,
Reshma Saujani