Advocacy in Action: Advancing Opportunity at the Idaho State Capitol

For Sadie, Chamber Day reinforced how deeply childcare accessibility is woven into Idaho’s economic future. Through her work with the KIDS First Coalition, she supports efforts to strengthen Idaho’s workforce by advancing collaborative solutions that improve childcare access. 

Statewide data from the Idaho Child Care Gap Analysis shows that approximately 74,670 Idaho children have a potential need for licensed childcare, while only about 55,850 licensed childcare slots exist, leaving a gap of nearly 21,000 children, or 28 percent, without sufficient access to care. When more than half of young children have all available parents in the workforce, this gap directly impacts employers, families, and local economies. 

Reflecting on the experience, Sadie shared:

“What the most impactful part of seeing advocacy in action was witnessing the sheer number of individuals and organizations passionately representing different causes. It was powerful to see people advocating for minority groups, children, and underserved communities. In a time where public discourse can feel increasingly divided, it was encouraging to be in a space where people were committed to elevating voices that might otherwise go unheard.

My work with the KIDS First Coalition centers on strengthening Idaho’s workforce by improving childcare accessibility. Being at Chamber Day allowed me to see how childcare intersects with broader economic and policy discussions. When childcare accessibility was brought up, it reinforced that this issue is not isolated. It is foundational to workforce stability.

The childcare challenge is not one sector’s problem to solve. It involves policy decisions, employer participation, funding structures, and community based providers. Advocacy brings these stakeholders together and ensures early childhood systems are treated as essential infrastructure. Strengthening early childhood ultimately strengthens families, workforce participation, and long term economic stability.”

Sadie’s reflection underscores a key truth of our work: when childcare is accessible and affordable, families can work, businesses can grow, and communities become more resilient. Advocacy ensures that early childhood systems are recognized and supported as the infrastructure they truly are.

For Olivia, Early Learning Day made clear how interconnected education policy and financial stability truly are. Through her internship, she focuses on increasing awareness around ALICE households — families who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, meaning they are working yet still unable to afford housing, childcare, food, and other essentials — and advocating for working families across our region.  

According to the most recent State of ALICE in Idaho report, 41 percent of Idaho households fall below the ALICE threshold, meaning they are either living in poverty or are working but unable to afford basic necessities such as housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare. That reality makes early learning policy inseparable from economic stability. 

Olivia reflected:

“What stood out most to me was that legislators were willing to truly listen. I was able to share my opinions, lived experiences from the field, and supporting research without feeling dismissed or shut out. Even when perspectives differed, there was still space for respectful dialogue. That experience reinforced that advocacy spaces are meant to be entered, not feared. Legislators cannot respond to realities they never hear about. 

Although we were there to advocate specifically for early learning, nearly every conversation connected back to ALICE households. With ALICE representing nearly half of Idaho’s population, it is impossible to separate education policy from financial stability, childcare access, housing affordability, and workforce participation. These conversations were not political. They were about real people and real lives. 

As a social worker and representative of United Way, I believe advocacy is part of my ethical responsibility. It is not about speaking over families, but ensuring their experiences are carried into rooms where decisions are made. Lasting change happens when policy reflects lived experience.”