What you need to know about trends in childcare affordability with Meghan Salas Atwell

Release date: April 20, 2026

If we want to improve the economy, if we want to make the population healthier, or even if we want to reduce the deficit, leading economists tell us that we should invest in early childhood development. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening, and, as new research from National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) reveals, childcare providers are feeling pinched. My guest to discuss NAEYC’s most recent Early Childhood Education (ECE) Workforce Survey is NAEYC’s Senior Director of Applied Research, Meghan Salas Atwell. As you will hear Meghan explain, childcare providers are caught between rising costs and decreasing revenue. If this persists, the evidence suggests that we all will suffer. More information about Meghan and ECE Workforce Survey is below.

Biography of Meghan Salas Atwell

Meghan Salas Atwell, PhD is the Senior Director of Applied Research at NAEYC.  She has 20+ years of applied research experience in various areas of social policy.  At NAEYC she oversees research related to accreditation, position statement revision, and surveys of the ECE field.  Prior to joining NAEYC in 2022, she was the Associate Director of the Center on Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University where she served as an evaluator for the local early childhood initiatives.  She has also worked in an evaluation capacity for the Pew Charitable Trusts, George Washington University, The Urban Institute, and others.  She holds a doctorate in Public Policy and Public Administration, with a focus on Urban and Social Policy from George Washington University.

Links

NAEYC’s annual Early Childhood Education (ECE) Workforce Wurvey

https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/user-174467/2026_survey_brief.pdf