As summer 2020 came to a close, the Forum for Youth Investment conducted a COVID Listening Tour to hear lessons and insights from the leaders of state children’s cabinets about how cabinets are navigating the pandemic, their most pressing concerns, and how they see the work ahead. This fall, the Forum will release a short series of briefs highlighting themes and findings from across cabinets. This first brief focuses on a primary concern shared across cabinets: how to meet kids’ and families’ needs for appropriate school-day care for children as so many schools operate virtually. Importantly, the exacerbated need for child care during the COVID-19 pandemic amplifies longstanding challenges to equitable access to high-quality childcare, which many cabinets have already been working to confront. (author abstract)