Tabbut, Julia2018-04-122018-04-122007https://hdl.handle.net/11299/195653Nearly 70 percent of parents with young children in Minnesota are in the workforce and rely on child care programs to provide their children with safe, healthy environments, nurturing, and early learningﾗthe foundations for school readiness. Research shows that all children can benefit from quality child care, but when parents who earn low wages or have little formal education can access quality child care, their children get a boost and can 'catch up' to their more advantaged peers. In 2003, the Minnesota State Legislature enacted policies that resulted in the loss of over 200 million dollars in child care funding from 2003 to 2005. This put tremendous financial pressure both on low wage working parents and on the child care providers that serve them. As a result, 20 percent of the licensed child care providers in Hennepin County have gone out of business, and parents have reported increasing barriers in their search for stable, quality child care. This report contains maps showing the loss of child care availability during the two-year period when the funding cuts took effect. The Greater Minneapolis Day Care Association collected data on all active licensed child care providers in Hennepin County between November 2004 and June 2006, including the dates that they became active, and, if appropriate, the dates that they closed. As the maps clearly show, following the 2003 funding cuts to child care, many areas saw a significant loss of licensed child care spaces.enCommuniversityearly childhood developmenteducationgeographic information systems (GIS)Hennepin CountyMinneapolisReport