There’s never been much choice involved in childcare: For most U.S. families, it’s take what you can get.

What toddler teacher is going to stick around when she could work with 4-year-olds and make double the money?

Fears about a spike in abuse were proved wrong. Now mothers with firsthand experience of the system want to transform its approach to family safety, which is rooted in racist surveillance and carceral intervention.

A quiet split is brewing in the party: Is “better” enough, or is stretching toward a truly accessible, public program the goal? Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden have taken sides.