Access to quality, affordable child care is critical to ensuring the well-being of children, boosting employment opportunities for parents, and advancing inclusive economic growth. But the current US child care system, which relies mostly on subsidies known as portable vouchers, is broken. In many states and localities, portable vouchers are not sufficiently funded to reach all eligible families. In fact, nearly 60 percent of rural communities in the US are child care deserts. These challenges, which the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated, can undermine labor force participation and economic mobility, particularly for women and parents of color. To ensure a sustainable, effective child care system, policymakers can consider fundamental changes to the current child care infrastructure. (author abstract)