My husband Jose and I live in Rhode Island. Our son Abdiel is almost 2, and the three of us are on our own here. Our families are in the Dominican Republic. There are no grandparents nearby, no one to call when Abdiel is sick and I must go to work, no extra help when something unexpected comes up.
I am a school administrator and a former special education teacher. I advocate for Spanish-speaking families. I understand systems. I know how to navigate them. And I still ran into barriers when I applied for childcare assistance. I made a mistake on an application, and it triggered a child support referral against my husband. We had to go to court to explain it, which further delayed the process.
In the end, we didn’t qualify for subsidies.
We earn too much to qualify for the help, but not enough to feel financially secure.
So, I pay $250 a week for a home-based childcare provider because I want Abdiel in a place where Spanish is spoken, where his culture is understood, and where he feels like he belongs.
Home childcare providers are doing incredibly important work. They are running small businesses, caring for young children, and creating culturally responsive spaces for families like mine. But they often do so without sufficient support, training, or resources.
That gap shows up in real ways. For instance, Abdiel is in speech therapy because of concerning signs I recognized, partly because of my professional background. His childcare provider once suggested he might be autistic, basing her assessment on a single behavior. I appreciated her concern, but I also knew she wasn’t qualified to diagnose my child, and it worried me that she was making an erroneous assumption about him. That moment stayed with me because all childcare providers are critical to ensuring children are safe and nurtured while their families are working, but they need more support so they can meet children’s needs with confidence.
Access to high-quality, affordable childcare should not be treated as a benefit only for families in extreme poverty. Every child and all families deserve the same opportunity.
Right now, too many of us are left to figure it out on our own.
Atlette and her family shared their story as part of Strolling Thunder 2026 where families from across the country meet with policymakers to talk about what programs families need to thrive.
