The cost of child care for a Montgomery County infant can rival that of college tuition.

Parents often don’t have the money — or the access to an available seat — needed to ensure their baby receives quality child care before they walk into a kindergarten classroom.

That’s why county leaders on Wednesday celebrated a $10 million investment to expand Head Start services to children 3 years old and younger, as well as to provide financial support for community child-care providers.

Head Start, a federal program, has long served low-income families in the county. It provides preschool-aged children with education, health and nutrition services.

But County Executive Marc Elrich said younger children fall through the cracks. “Four- and 5-year-olds were never enough,” he said.

So officials will use roughly $6 million in federal funds to support and expand Head Start, including for children 3 and younger.

The rest — about $4 million in county money — will finance a loan fund to support licensed child-care facilities, with a goal of building up their capacity for new infant and toddler seats.

Officials hope the low-interest and forgivable loans help child-care providers navigate a complex bureaucracy.

“It is not cheap to operate a center,” Elrich said.

Child-care shortages

A 2024 report on Montgomery County child care found that many providers, and in particular home-based providers, “struggle to access capital to make improvements and repairs.” Many rely on personal credit cards and are forced to defer maintenance.

The county has a significant shortage of child-care options, and the largest gap between supply and demand affects families with infants and toddlers.

There’s capacity to serve roughly six in 10 children age 5 and under, the child-care report found. But there’s only enough slots to serve 19% of children under 2.

Elrich acknowledged the announcement comes as the federal government has threatened to axe education programs nationwide. He referenced an effort from the Trump administration to bar undocumented children from the Head Start program.

“The president just ought to be quiet and let us do what we need to do,” Elrich said.

County officials touted their plan to expand access while at the Academy Child Development Center in North Potomac. With a podium set atop a rainbow carpet, they took turns emphasizing the importance of quality early childhood education for young kids.

Nearby, a group of 4-year-olds molded Play-Doh. They shuffled letter blocks to form words like “brain” and “smell.” Picture books surrounded them.

Leaders hope that soon far more young children can get a similar experience.

As a former elementary school teacher, Elrich said that when young children start school behind grade-level, they often struggle to catch up.

“It becomes a lifetime sentence,” he said.